LP crisis: You lack power to dissolve state excos, Abure warns Nenadi

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

The Barrister Julius Abure-led Labour Party has warned the Senator Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee against dissolving elected ward, local government and state executives of the party.

The faction described such a move as unlawful.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh in a statement on Saturday said, the caretaker committee lacked the powers to dissolve the existing structures of the party or replace them with interim executives.

The party said its position followed advice from the (INEC), which reportedly informed the caretaker committee that it could not approve the dissolution of the party’s state, local government and ward executives without statutory notice and in violation of the party’s constitution.

According to the statement, the commission noted in its communication that the dissolution of the party’s structures across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory could not be recognised because the National Executive Council meeting that purportedly took the decision did not provide the required statutory notice to the electoral body.

The faction also questioned the legality of the caretaker committee, alleging that it was constituted outside the provisions of the party’s constitution.

Ifoh further claimed that the committee was put together by and alongside some stakeholders, insisting that such an arrangement was not recognised by the party’s constitutional framework.

The party added that the matter concerning the leadership of the party is currently before the , expressing hope that the court would resolve the dispute.

While urging members of the party to ignore what it described as attempts to usurp the party’s structures, the leadership said it remained confident that the issues would be resolved ahead of the .

The statement maintained that the party would continue to defend its constitutional structures while awaiting the outcome of ongoing legal proceedings.