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A few days after the Supreme Court verdict on the 2023 presidential election, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has sacked five aides with immediate effect.
The Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as well as Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saw their petitions against President Bola Tinubu's election victory thrown out by the apex court on Thursday, October 26, 2023, for lacking in merit.
The decision ended a 171-day legal tussle to overturn Tinubu's election.
Meanwhile, in a letter titled “Termination of Appointments of Key Aides to the National Chairman” and signed by the National Secretary of the party, Malam Umar Farouk, Abure announced the termination of the five aides.
The affected appointees include the Chairman of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Committee on Special Duties, Mandela Ukegbu; Senior Special Assistant on Presidential Campaign, Fundraising and Grassroot Mobilization, Balami Isaac David; Senior Special Adviser on Strategy, Protocol and International Relations, Didacus Joe-Adigwe; Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Mobilization, Princess Ajibola and Senior Special Assistant on ICT, Isaac Imasuagbon.
“The National Chairman wishes them well in their future engagements. He also warned Mr. Ukegbu, who has continued to parade himself to the public claiming to be an aide to the National Chairman to desist from doing so henceforth,” the statement partly read,
Though the reason for the termination of the appointment remains unstated, a party source explained that it was to trim down the workforce.
“When you consider their remuneration now that the election and court cases have ended, it only makes sense to cut down on the workforce and official aides. It is also likely the presidential campaign council of Peter Obi may be dissolved very soon,” the source told ThePunch.