Follow Us on Google
From Okwe Obi and Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
National Vice Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, has been appointed as 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.
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.
Meanwhile, LP alleged, yesterday, its national secretariat was attacked by armed men suspected to be All Progressives Party’s (APC) thugs and policemen.
The embattled National Chairman, Julius Abure, in a statement said the armed invaders, reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and window to have access and in the process sacked workers and party members who were at the secretariat.
“Though, I was out of town 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.”
The party chairman called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party, the APC, to order and also caution them on using unorthodox means to suffocate political structures in Nigeria.
“A court of competent jurisdiction only yesterday ordered that I, Julius Abure, remains the national chairman, and should not be restrained from performing my duties. It, therefore, baffles me why the Nigerian Police should allow itself to be used to perpetrate illegalities.
“We advice the Police, APC and their sponsors to play by the rules. We will no longer tolerate the often intimidation and deployment of brute forces against the party and their personnel. We demand they put a stop to abuse of power and respect the rights and privileges of other political parties, particularly, the Labour Party to contest for power,” he noted.
