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Says grassroots structure sacrosanct
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From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Nenadi Usman, has declared that the Labour Party must take advantage of the membership demography of Nigeria’s labour unions as grassroots structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Senator Usman made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja while welcoming party stakeholders to a one-day high-level, multi-level stakeholders’ summit, stressing that abandoning the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and sister organisations as membership-based platforms gave room for the party to lose its court litigations.
Recall that the Labour Party lost its post-election litigations on the technical ground that it could not present EC8A forms to prove the widespread representation it claimed.
Consequently, she highlighted that the stakeholders’ summit was convened after serious consultations and meetings with members on the importance of grassroots mobilisation to build a new structure.
“Without knowing who your members are, where they are, how many they are, then you can never plan well for 2027. And we have seen that in the 2023 election, the fact that we did not use these two institutions like the NLC and TUC to anchor the party very firmly at the grassroots will lead us to the problems where we are.
“And when other political parties are busy quarrelling over the use of IReV or e-transmission, that shouldn’t be our problem. Our problem is to ensure that we register our members right from the grassroots using the major institutions that form the foundation of the Labour Party – the NLC, the TUC and all the affiliate unions.
“So if we can use them to register our members right from the polling unit, then we know we are on the way to success because, without having our people registered and we have the data, we know where they are and can use them as polling unit agents. So we can only count for votes our agents can count for at various polling units.”
Sen. Nenadi, further speaking, insisted that, “The basic foundation is what we are doing today – getting to make sure that numbers of our members are all registered and that we know, henceforth, every polling unit that important document called EC8A which the court ordered that we will have.
“Remember that in 2023 when the Labour Party went to court to prove their case and because they didn’t use the unions to get that form from every polling unit, they couldn’t really prove the number of votes that it clearly had. So I just want to plead with each and every one of you that when you go back to your various states, after we must have put our heads together during the technical session to come up with the ideal way of approaching our members to register, let everybody go back and execute that which we have decided today so that members of the Labour Party can come out en masse to register and get their cards, and after that we know where we are going to start from because no structure can ever be built without a foundation.”
Further highlighting 2023 technicalities, she said, “We were mocked that we didn’t really have a structure and we didn’t have a structure because we did not utilise that which we had. It is time for us to open our eyes, shine our eyes and say we are going to do this. Because there is no polling unit in this country without a serving worker or a retired worker, we are all over.
“But when we are not called upon to use our position to safeguard the meanings of the party, then we become onlookers. I want to assure you that even without payment, our members would have come out, they would have stood at the polling units, they would have watched our votes counted, they would have signed the EC8A forms and collected it and would have used it to show that we really won or did not win the election.
“So this is another opportunity and we are not going to play with it. And as I said, when we went, sat with TUC and NLC and realised that we have a problem, and said how do we do this? They said that’s simple, let’s just do it. Let’s put our members together.
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“And we came together, we had a meeting, we decided among ourselves what to do. We are not saying that we have one fixed method or not. We are going to look at the peculiarities of each state and, at the end of the day, tailor what is going to be suitable for those states so that at the end of the day we will be able to stand as a well-structured political party,” she said.
Also addressing the stakeholders, Deputy Governor of Abia State, Engr Ikechukwu Lekwachi Emetu, representing the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, corroborated that unity of purpose is the strength of any political movement, which lies not in numbers but in cohesion, clarity of vision, discipline and shared conviction.
He said the gathering provides the party with an opportunity to reflect, recalibrate and renew its collective commitment to the ideals of a better movement.
“At this very epic occasion, under the leadership of Dr Alex Otti in Abia State, the state has been able to demonstrate that the Labour Party is not just an electoral platform, but a vehicle for purposeful governance, accountability and people-centred development. The progress being made by infrastructural renewal, institutional reforms, fiscal discipline and service delivery stands as evidence that our party is capable of translating this very vision to the national level.”
However, he noted that the stakeholders must also acknowledge that sustainable political success requires internal harmony.
“Reuniting the party is not about preparing for differences; it’s about building trust, strengthening structures, deepening communication and ensuring that every stakeholder, from ward level to the national leadership, feels valued and heard.
“To achieve this, the party must begin to consolidate its structures, strengthen grassroots mobilisation and membership revalidation, build strategic alliances with progressive minds who share its vision, invest in youth and women’s participation as drivers of electoral success, promote internal democracy, transparency and discipline, and communicate its achievements effectively and consistently to the people.
“We must know and remember that Abia State is a model for this very nation to follow and the Labour Party is the driver of this very progress. We must remember that we are not alone.
“This summit,” he stressed, “must therefore produce actionable resolutions, not just speeches. Let us leave here with a clear strategy, defined responsibilities and measurable timelines. Let us also commit to resolving internal misunderstandings through dialogue and not division.”
Meanwhile, the governor had called on aggrieved members whom the party lost during the litigations to join the Labour Party and build from scratch.
He said the Labour Party was built on principles of equity, justice, productivity and social inclusion. “If we remain faithful to these principles, no realignment or opposition strategy can diminish our impact. We have done this in 2023 by promise; Abia State has been able to do this since 2023 while in office by impact.
“On behalf of the Labour Party, on behalf of the Abia State people, I reaffirm our commitment to collaborative leadership, political vigilance and responsible governance. We will continue to align with all positive and progressive forces to protect this very mandate that the Labour Party has given freely to the people and expand our political footprint in a manner that strengthens democracy.”
Also speaking during the summit, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Political Commission, Comrade Steven Igho, who was represented by Engr Steven Okoro, assured that the new vista will ensure serious mobilisation and registration of its membership under the Labour Party to form a political structure. He, however, commended the efforts of the Interim National Chairman for taking the bold step.
While adding a voice, National Secretary of the Labour Party Board of Trustees (BoT), Salisbury Mohammed, said the reason for the stakeholders’ meeting is to brainstorm on how to take engagement down to stakeholders’ roots, emphasising that this is the only way to take the message down to the grassroots.
