Labour Party Crisis: Apapa, Abure Faction Lock Horns Over Bauchi NEC Meeting

The Bauchi National Executive Council meeting fixed by the Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party has drawn the ire of the Julius Abure faction as the internal crisis in the party continues to grow.

The NEC meeting scheduled for Wednesday was announced by the acting national secretary of the Apapa faction, Saleh Lawan.

The faction invited presidential candidate; Peter Obi, Abia state governor-elect; Alex Otti, all elected LP National Assembly members: Senators & Members of the House of Representatives, elected LP State Assembly members, 2023 LP governorship, National and State Assembly candidates and all National Working Committee and National Executive Committee members of the party.

Reacting the Abure-led faction described the planned meeting as illegal, citing the suspension of members of the Apapa faction.

“We are using this medium to alert Nigerians that the proposed NEC meeting scheduled to hold on the 3rd of May in Bauchi is illegal. They have no powers to call for NEC, they have been suspended by NEC.

“This illegal gathering has been reported to the Police, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and they have no intention to monitor the shenanigan. INEC in any case does not even know of any other Labour Party as no court in Nigeria has given any judgement on the case,” a statement by acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh read.

However, the Apapa faction, in a swift response, insisted that it would go ahead with the planned NEC meeting to “right the wrongs and illegality of the contempt of court orders perpetrated by Julius Abure whom the FCT High Court restrained from parading himself as National Officers of the Labour Party.”

Spokesman of the Apapa faction, Abayomi Arabambi, said Abure deliberately committed contempt against the FCT High Court over the restraining orders issued on April 5, 17 and 20, 2023, by “illegally conducting a Labour Party NEC meeting in Asaba, Delta State on 18th April, 2023 and issuance of illegal appointment letters to states executives etc.”

While declaring the Asaba NEC meeting as illegal, Arabambi said “warrants of arrest have been procured for the arrest of Julius Abure and others” over their indictment for alleged “forgery, perjury and criminal conspiracy.”

THE WHISTLER had earlier reported how both factions have been at loggerheads over purported plans to withdraw the party’s petition at the presidential election tribunal.

While the Abure faction has continued to accuse the Apapa faction of plotting to withdraw the petition, the Apapa faction has maintained that it stands with Peter Obi as he fights to reclaim his stolen mandate.