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The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Labour Party has shown Julius Abure the exit door and taken over the party's affairs in an unexpected twist in the ongoing furore in the opposition camp.
The development comes hours after Abure was re-elected as the national chairman of the Labour Party at a controversial convention held in Nnewi in Anambra State on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
The convention also returned all the National Working Committee (NWC) members elected, even though the slots for representatives of both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) were left vacant.
Pulse reported that the Independent rejected the convention that produced Abure, claiming that it didn’t monitor the exercise as required by the law.
On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Labour Party's BoT Chairman, Sylvester Ejiofor, said in a statement that the board had taken over the party’s affairs.
Ejiofor said the move became necessary to avoid any leadership vacuum following the expiration of Abure’s tenure, describing the exercise that returned him to office as a "charade."
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“Following the expiration of the tenure in office of the immediate past National Working Committee of the LP headed by Mr. Julius Abure, the BoT, in line with the party’s constitution, has stepped in to steer the affairs of the LP.
'This step is to avoid any leadership vacuum in the LP. Furthermore, the BoT of the LP, in consultation with major stakeholders in the party, will soon communicate the processes for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the LP.
“This is in line with the March 20, 2018 Federal High Court consent judgment delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole which recognised the Nigeria Labour Congress as the owners of the LP and mandated that an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the LP be held.
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“The decision of the BoT is also in furtherance of the agreement signed between the former national chairman of the LP, Mr. Julius Abure, and the NLC and the Trade Union Congress on June 27, 2022, which was mediated by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Unlike the charade that took place today in Nnewi and in tandem with the principles of popular democracy, the all-inclusive national convention will start with grassroots congresses at ward, local government, state and ultimately at the national level.
“This process will not leave any genuine member of LP out and will be held in the full view of the Independent National Electoral Commission, media, civil society, security agents, and the general public,” the statement partly read.