Fresh Crisis Hits Labour Party as Ward Exco Suspends National Chairman, National body kicks

By Our Correspondent 

A ward in the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has suspended the national chairman of the party, Julius Abure, over alleged anti-party activities.

The suspension comes one week after Senator Iyoricha Ayu, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was suspended by his ward in Benue State.

That action led to the eventual removal of Ayu as chairman of the PDP as a court ordered his removal based on the suspension.

At a press conference, Martins Osigbemhe, the Ward Chairman, said Abure was suspended by the executive, pending the determination of the numerous petitions and cases against him in courts.

'We, the Labour Party (LP) Ward Executive Council in WARD 03 – ARUE, in Esan North East LGA (04) of Edo State (12); Do Hereby Suspend Barr Abure Julius Odianosen indefinitely as the National Chairman of Labour Party (LP) with the following Identification: PU 007-Uromi- Uzenema Primary School I, VIN: 90F5B 0514C 29569 9662, DOB-Y: 1971, Gender: Male, Phone Number: 07033327679, 08055912775,

08027676768 for the following reasons pending the determination of the Numerous Petitions and cases against him in Courts and ongoing Police Investigations with Warrants of Arrest for Criminality and Gross violation of the Labour Party Constitution 2019 as

amended etc to include:

1- That Abure, and his executive members namely - Alhaji Farouk Ibrahim, National Secretary; Ojukwu Clement, National Organising Secretary of Labour Party, Hon. Jioke Godwin, Factional Chairman of the Party in Ebonyi state, were accused of forging the signature of one Mr Eze Oko, the actual winner of June 9, 2022 governorship primary and replacing him with one Nkwegu Edward

Okereke as governorship candidate of the party in the state.

2- Abure’s Forgery and Perjury against authentic Labour Party Candidates through illegal substitution of their names without their voluntary withdrawal etc and subject to the evidence of non-applicability of the Police Report of indictment and Court Warrant of arrest against Barr Julius Abure and some other National working Committee members.

3- Abure’s indulgence in gross Anti-Party Activities with the opposition APC & PDP

that led to the failure of the Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential, and some

National and States elections through unlawful association and proclamations

against labour party candidates.

4- Abure’s inability and refusal to mobilize funds for the states LP Chairmen led to

deficiency to provide over 42,000 Polling Units Agents to INEC in the 25th

February, 2023 Presidential Election which frustrated Mr Peter Obi’s efforts and has now constituted impediment to the Labour Party’s inability to Provide ALL the needed the INEC FORMS EC8A from the over 176,000 plus polling units that

would be needed for the prosecution of the 2023 Presidential Election Tribunal

Stolen Mandate.

5- Abure’s illegal Sales of twenty Four (24) Labour Party States Assembly Forms to Governor Godwin Obaseki the Governor of Edo State @ N2,500,000 each as an opposition political party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

6- Abure’s Illegal Suspension of members of the Labour Party National Working

Committee, NWC without the approval of the National Executive Council, NEC by

2/3 majority votes cast.

7- Abure’s Illegal Diversion of Labour Party monies into his private company’s bank account from the Sales forms for the 2023 general election thereby necessitating the EFCC urgent intervention to probe his accounts and those of the Labour Party LP.

8- Abure’s unconstitutional and illegal extortion of monies from all Labour Party

2023 Candidates through criminal enrichment of self with Labour Party Fund to the tune of Over Two Billion (N2,000,000,000) Naira used for acquisition of properties in Abuja, Edo State, Purchase of Jeeps and Luxury cars in a grand display of opulence and wealth and criminal enrichment of family members.

9- Abure’s instruction to Labour Party States chairmen and their exco to work against some Labour Party Candidates during the state elections of Saturday March 18, 2023 in support of APC & PDP incumbents resulting in lower rating of the Labour Party compared to the presidential election of 25th February, 2023.

10-Abure’s Extortion of money from the Support Groups in Nigeria and in the

Diaspora to the tune of hundreds of millions of naira.

11-Abure’s Inability to provide a functional situation room and ICT solutions for database administration and management for the 2023 general elections that were basically electronic in transmission and collation of election results thereby leading to the loss of the presidential election and thereby amounting to gross incompetence

and dereliction of duties with the inability to account for the Labour Party votes at

all levels of the 2023 National Elections.

12-Abure’s deliberate refusal for Labour Party to pay the Polling Unit Agents who

worked for the 2023 Presidential & National elections and leading to the low

morale of voters and polling unit agents in the states elections of Saturday March

18. 2023.

13-Abure’s Illegal dissolution of Elected Executives in Ogun State under the Leadership of the State Chairman Comrade Ashade Michael and the State Secretary Balogun Feyisola Michael whom the constitution stipulated three (3) years uninterrupted

tenures for despite the pendency of a suit at the Federal High Court dully served on the National Working Committee, NWC. This Action is against ARTICLE 15(2) ,

ARTICLE 17(2) ARTICLES 19 (1A) of the LABOUR party constitution as

amended 2019

Above are the stated reasons adopted by the ward executive council for the

indefinite suspension of Barr Julius Abure as the Nation Chairman of Labour Party

Thank you

Labour Party

Forward Ever

But the National Secretary of the party, Mallam Farouk Umar, dismissed the suspension as illegal.

“They also made some spurious allegations against him which is untrue and concocted by the sponsors of the Press Conference. We however deemed it fit to make some responses.

“The Young men we saw on that visuals are apparently not anybody from Labour Party in Edo State as claimed. The executives of the party in the state, Local Government and my ward are well known to the party.

“None of them were at the press conference. We make bold to say that they are people assembled and rented from some Abuja slums and paid to read a prepared speech given to them,” Umar said.

He said that the LPs Constitution is clear on who can suspend and who cannot suspend the National Chairman.

He said, “They should go and read the party constitution. It is only the National Convention that can suspend the National chairman of the Labour Party. It also must be through such a convention called for the purpose of the suspension of the National Chairman.”

He also said that the sudden suspension was an after thought of some opposition parties purely to distract the leadership of the Labour Party at this time.

“There is no reasonable party member at this point in time who will be thinking of such thing when we are pursuing our presidential mandate in the court and all other mandates including the governorship, Senate and House of Representatives that were brazenly stolen.

“A party from the blues competing with the top two political parties and in the process, winning eight Senate and 34 House of Representatives as well as numerous House of Assembly seats. We also won a governorship seat while we are in court to retrieve other mandates including the presidency.

“This is certainly not a matter that should be given serious attention by the media. We ordinarily should be talking to our lawyers by now but the fact that you are dealing with faceless individuals who are obviously been sponsored.

“We are also calling on Nigerians to distance themselves from politicians who take pleasure in maligning political leaders, especially, politicians who are afraid of the rising profile of our National Chairman, Julius Abure,” Umar said.