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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
National Vice Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, has been appointed as the acting National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), by the National Working Committee (NWC) following the suspension of Julius Abure.
Apapa who addressed journalists yesterday in Abuja after an emergency meeting said the NWC acted on the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court which restrained Abure from parading himself as the National Chairman of the Party.
The court had also restrained three other officials of the party over alleged forgery.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, had ordered that the originating processes of the court should be served on the restrained officials namely; Abure, the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu.
The judge held that the ex parte application for interim injunction restraining the four officials by aggrieved members of the Labour Party before the court has merit and granted same.
But Apapa revealed that the NWC also reviewed the suspension of party members and exco earlier suspended by the party leadership.
The three other officials restrained were also replaced by ASaleh Lawal- acting national secretary, Rawland Daramola- acting treasurer, and Prince Reuben Favour – acting organising secretary.
“The NWC equally reviewed that recently there are some cases of suspensions that were badly handled. And this National Working Committee meeting as reviewed them, and the suspension all over are hereby reviewed and the officers are reinstated.
“With effect from now, the so called officers whose the court had barred should not parade themselves as officers of the party until cases against them are treated or handled by the party”, Apapa stated.
He equally denied the allegation that the party has been invaded by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the current leadership believes extensively in the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi.
Earlier, Abure, however, had in a statement, accused the APC of using thugs and a detachment of the Nigerian Police Force to invade the party’s headquarters in Abuja.
Abure stated that the invaders who are armed reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and window to have access to the Secretariat and in the process sacked workers and party members who were at the Secretariat.
He added: “Though, I was out of town but information has it that the agenda of the Invaders was to inaugurate an illegitimate executive which has been chosen for them by their sponsors.
“This incident is coming days after a similar invasion in our Imo state Secretariat which up till now is still being occupied by the agents of the Imo state government.
“Only yesterday, our Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi through the Presidential Campaign Council alerted Nigerians of plot to hound him out of the country over APC’s covert plot in collaboration with some security agents to frame him up allegedly on matters bothering on treason.
“Labour Party is only a political party which is contesting for power. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC having conducted election ranked us third, a position we have rejected and have approached the Tribunal to contest. That is our only offence.
“We therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party, the APC to order and also rein then in from using unorthodox means to suffocate political structures in Nigeria.”
