…Abure absent
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
In a move to salvage Labour Party from the lingering leadership crisis rocking the party, stakeholders of the party including its national leader, and 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi; his running mate, Datti Ahmed, and others, Wednesday, set up a Caretaker Committee to man the affairs of the party.
National Assembly members as well as 2021 governorship candidates of the party in various states were all in attendance at the meeting hosted by Gov. Alex Otti of Abia State at the Banquet House, Government House, Umuahia.
The 29-member Caretaker Committee is to be chaired by former minister of finance, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman from Kaduna South, while the immediate-past Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Darlington Nwokocha from Abia Central, is to serve as the Secretary.
Stakeholders of the party from different blocs including the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly; and the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; and the Trade Union Congress, TUC; were all represented in the committee.
The embattled National Chairman of the Party, Comrade Julius Abure, and his loyalists, however, stayed away from the well-attended meeting.
Meanwhile, the committee was given three months to conduct its assignment and organise a national convention for the party.
In a communique read by the 2023 LP deputy governorship candidate in Plateau State, Edward Pwajok, SAN, the committee was charged with repositioning the party.
“The Committee is to ensure that Ward, Local Government and State congresses as well as national convention are held immediately in line with the constitution,” the communique read.
Pwajok commended the National Leader of the party, Peter Obi; Gov. Alex Otti of Abia State, and other stakeholders of the party for convening the meeting which he said was expedient for the survival and the future of the party.
The meeting passed vote of confidence on Obi ad the party’s national leader.
It also urged all party members with pending litigations against the party to withdraw same immediately and embrace reconciliation.
In his speech, Obi said the meeting was convened as a matter of necessity after wide consultations to salvage the party from collapse.
According to him, the essence of the meeting was not to sanction anybody but to fashion out ways to navigate the party out of its current leadership impasse.
Obi who said personal sacrifices were needed to move the party forward, urged all members to put the interest of the party above every other consideration.
“I have been called names. Some said I’m weak, some said I should not present myself for election again, but my position is that due process has to be followed. We are not here to sack or suspend anybody. We want to do the right thing.”
He, however, cautioned the members of the Caretaker Committee to abide by the rules and not attempt to grow beyond control.
Obi who said that Labour Party is the third largest party in Nigeria, appealed to the members to put their difference behind, unite and move the party forward.
Obi expressed hope that LP would take over the country and win many states in 2023 if the members settled the lingering leadership tussle bedeviling the party.
Earlier in his speech, Gov. Otti said the meeting was convened because as elders, they would not be watching helplessly to allow the party go down the drain.
He explained that as elders, it would be unfair for them to stay at home and allow the goat give birth in tethers, hence the intervention.
“All we want to do is to salvage the party. We want to do the right thing. The constitution has to be followed.”
Otti said the future of the candidates of the party would be jeopardised if the right things were not done, hence the meeting of stakeholders.
In her acceptance speech, the Committee Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman noted that the responsibility before the Committee was enormous but promised to deliver on its mandate within the timeframe.
“We will ensure that we put back Labour Party in its rightful position. People have not registered with our party because of the problems bedeviling the party.”
She expressed optimism that Labour Party would bounce back and come out stronger.
In a remark, Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, said the extended meeting was “a doctrine of necessity” needed to save the party.
Senator Umeh explained that since the party had become rudderless following the expiration of the tenure of the last leadership of the party in June, a Caretaker Committee had to be put in place to direct the affairs of the party.
He said he was experienced in party administration, arguing that if the intervention was not held, the party would be in for troubles.
“We cannot be building on quick sand where our efforts will sink. Nobody is against anybody. What brought us here is doctrine of necessity.
“Our party is currently rudderless, and once your party is not recognised by INEC, you will be waisting your time.
“We raised concern over the convention that purportedly took place in Nnewi in March, but it fell on deaf ears. We pointed at the pitfalls. I knew we were going to fall into a ditch. As a former national Chairman of a party, I’m conversant with party administration. You can’t put the cat before the horse. You can’t hold national convention without first organising ward, LG and state congresses.
“It doesn’t matter your relationship with anybody, once what you are doing is not right, you will be endangering everybody’s interest and right. Now that INEC has wielded the big stick as a regulatory body, I knew we ran into a stormy water.
“For your (party) Chairman to attend a meeting and he will be asked to leave, that shows you are not part of the system any more. I read the consent judgment and it said that the past leadership must hold a convention.
“So, this meeting was convened because we were caught napping. I have been in court for years and I know where the mines are laid.
“We are not against anybody. We are here because we are no longer in what INEC is doing. We didn’t create the trouble, rather we are here to solve it. So, nobody should blame anybody.”
Some of the party bigwigs present at the meeting were the Lagos State governorship candidate of LP in 2023, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour; and his Imo State counterpart, Senator Athan Achonu.
Others were Senator Kelvin Chukwu representing Enugu East; Senator Victor Lar (Plateau State); Senator Imasuen Neda (Edo State); Abia Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu; Rep. Obi Aguocha, and other LP Rep members from different states
LP state Assembly members from many states among other stakeholders were in attendance.
