LP crisis: Abure’s aide defends his tenure, says mandate runs till 2028

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

The Special Adviser on Media and Strategic Communications to the factional National Chairman of the Labour Party, Aju Elumelu-James, has defended the tenure of Julius Abure, insisting that it remains valid until 2028.

In a statement, Elumelu-James said recent claims suggesting that Abure’s tenure had expired were misleading and politically motivated.

To him, the timeline of events surrounding his emergence and re-election remained a matter of record.

He explained that following the death of the former National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, in December 2020, the party’s National Working Committee appointed Maria Lebeke, then Deputy National Chairman, to act in the position pending the filling of the vacancy.

According to him, at a National Executive Council meeting on March 29, 2021, Abure was unanimously elected to complete the tenure of the late chairman, which was due to expire in June 2023.

Elumelu-James stated that prior to the expiration of that tenure, a NEC meeting was held in Asaba in April 2023, attended by stakeholders, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, Peter Obi, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

The NEC, he said, resolved to extend the tenure of the existing leadership by one year.

He further noted that before the expiration of the extended tenure in June 2024, a National Convention was held on March 27, 2024, in Nnewi, where the current leadership of the party was elected.

“The March 2024 convention remains valid and binding.

“It is, therefore, fallacious and mischievous to suggest that Abure’s tenure has expired,” he stated.

He also referenced a decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which he said affirmed that matters relating to party leadership are internal affairs of political parties and outside the jurisdiction of the courts, adding that no court had set aside the Nnewi convention.

He, however, reiterated that the statement was issued in the interest of clarity, transparency and institutional integrity.