- Calls on EFCC To Investigate Abure, Others
From Idu Jude Abuja
The leadership of the Labour Party National Transition Committee (LP-NTC) has warned Barrister Julius Abure, and other members of his group not to risk jail terms, and to respect court Judgement on the expiration of his tenure as the former Chairman of the Party since 2023, disqualifying and him from organizing legitimate elections in the party.
Consequent upon this, the LP-NTC has notified the general public, especially members of the Labour Party throughout Nigeria to stay away from any danger capable of ruining their political careers by dissociating themselves from sudden unconstitutional wards, local government and state Congresses being conducted by Abure and others.
A statement signed by Alhaji Abdulwaheed Omar, Chairman Labour Party National Transition Committee (LP-NTC) over the weekend, posited that any ward, local Government and state election conducted in all the states of the Federation by Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) especially states like Anambra state, Imo, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, Ondo, Kaduna, Adamawa remains a nullity in eye of the law.
The PL-NTC further pointed out that ward, local government areas and state congresses allegedly being organized in several states by Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) would remain an attempt in futility as Abure has lost that locus to organize further legitimate elections for Labour Party, stressing that such remains a waste of funds and human resources.
The LP-NTC warned that any elections organized by Julius Abure remain illegal, and another way of getting monies out of innocent misinformed members of the Labour Party and the general public.
“The reported congress venture by Barr Abure and his others are also acts of blatant disobedience to an irrevocable court judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court delivered on March 20, 2018, by Honourable Justice Gabriel Kolawole”.
Furthermore, Committee said that the current Abure Congress expedition is also a violation of the Nigeria Electoral Act, the operations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Constitution which ultimately regulates the affairs of political parties.
“Recall that the INEC, the Labour Party leader Mr. Peter Obi, the elected Labour Party members of States/National Assemblies and other informed, law-abiding stakeholders of our party nationwide boycotted, did not recognize and have since consistently dissociated themselves from the fraudulent Nnewi convention based on which Julius Abure and his cohorts claim authority to act as National Executive (NEC) Council and National Working Committee (NWC) of Labour Party to conduct congresses.
“Also recall that to make their positions clear beyond doubt on the illegitimacy of Abure’s unlawfully concocted Nnewi convention of March 27, 2024, INEC through the commission’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Rotimi Oyekami, Mr Peter Obi himself reiterating through his spokesman, Dr Yunusa Tanko, and other stakeholders publicly dissociated themselves in both formal print and electronic media from the Nnewi gathering.
“Ironically, it is on that multi-institutionally condemned, rejected, dismissed and invalid, illegal convention that Julius Abure and his friends of the Labour Party rely on as their authority to conduct congresses of the party and to engage themselves to, uninformed Labour Party members and the Nigerian public as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
“Furthermore, in stark contravention of INEC guidelines for the conduct of congresses by political parties and contrary to the false information being dished out to the public and uninformed Labour Party members, we have on good authority that just like their Nnewi convention charade, INEC did not approve the so-called congresses of Abure”.
Meanwhile, the LP-NTC has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to speedily investigate the bank account they used to carry out their illegal congresses, and convention or any other bank account and their named operators, Julius Abure, Clement Ojukwu and others, from being used to swindle unsuspecting or misinformed party men and women and to bring them to book for trial over their above described financial crimes and others previously documented.
” In the spirit of fraternal brotherhood, the Labour Party National Transition Committee (NTC) wishes to remind all members of our party aspiring to partake in congress and convention towards becoming officers of our party at any level that in March 2019, the Appeal Court in Abuja, in one fell swoop, sacked the Governor-elect, all State House of Assembly and National Assembly candidates of the ruling APC in Zamfara state because the primaries that produced them for election as the party’s candidates were conducted by an illegal party structure, just like Abure’s unconstitutional Nnewi structure.
” Also for example, in November of 2023, the Court of Appeal in Abuja annulled and sacked all 16 members of the PDP-controlled House of Assembly in Plateau state 8 (eight) months after their successful election and swearing-in, and handed their victory to their APC opponents because the PDP party structure that nominated them for election was illegal, just as Abure’s Nnewi caricature NWC of the Labour Party is today. It is the well-meaning desire of the LP-NTC that none of you will suffer the double hazards of loss of resources and irrecoverable opportunity by wasting your energies and hard-earned money on Abure and his charade of congresses”.
The Committee, however, reiterate its irreversibly committed to, within the shortest feasible time, being able to guide the party to conduct transparent, democratic ward, LGA and state congresses nationwide, culminating in a credible, expansive, all-inclusive National Convention.