Labour Party National Chairman Julius Abure, National Secretary Umar Farouk, and National Youth Leader Kennedy Ahanotu were noticeably absent from a stakeholders’ meeting held in Umuahia, Abia State, on Wednesday. The meeting, convened by Abia State Governor Alex Otti, aimed to resolve the ongoing leadership crisis within the party.
Despite the backing of Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Abure had previously warned Otti to focus on governance rather than involving himself in party administration. Nonetheless, Otti, Obi, his running mate Senator Datti Baba Ahmed, and Senator Victor Umeh of Anambra Central were among the key figures present at the meeting held at the Abia State Government House.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting announced the formation of a 29-member caretaker committee tasked with resolving the party’s internal crisis. The committee, chaired by Senator Nenadi Usman with Senator Darlington Nwaokecha as Secretary, was given a 90-day mandate to address the issues within the party. The communique also highlighted concerns that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had stated that the Labour Party currently lacks leadership.
Edward Pwajok, a party member, read the communique, which called for the withdrawal of all pending litigation against the party and mandated the caretaker committee to organize ward, local government, and state congresses, culminating in a national convention to elect new leaders.
In response, the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) rejected the resolutions from the stakeholders’ meeting, declaring them null and void. National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh issued a statement shortly after the meeting, criticizing Governor Otti’s involvement and questioning his authority to convene such a meeting.
Ifoh described the Umuahia meeting as a “charade” and a “waste of time and resources,” asserting that Otti had no constitutional authority, under either the Labour Party’s constitution or Nigerian law, to convene the meeting or establish a caretaker committee. He further challenged Otti to produce any official communication from INEC supporting the claims made at the meeting, emphasizing that the Abure-led NWC remains the legitimate leadership of the party.
