By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Mr Julius Abure has been advised to resign as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) amid controversies trailing his leadership of the opposition political group.
This advice was given by the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr James Ezema.
CNPP is the umbrella body of all registered political parties and associations in the country.
The group said the leadership of LP, which gained momentum after the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, joined the party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 general elections, mismanaged the crisis it is going through at the moment.
The party recently held a national convention, which was disowned by some party executives and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The event was not attended by Mr Obi, its candidate in the 2023 presidential election won by Mr Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In its statement issued on Sunday, CNPP applauded INEC for resisting pressure to endorse the outcome of the contentious national convention of the party.
“In view of the obvious lack of internal democracy in most of the political parties in Nigeria, INEC has done well for the sake of advancing our democracy by resisting obvious pressure to use its officials to endorse the outcome of the recent contentious national convention organised by a faction of the party.
“Therefore, we call on Barrister Julius Abure to make himself the hero in the crisis by tendering his immediate resignation as the National Chairman of the party,” it said.
The group further said, “Nigeria is supposed to be a liberal democracy, where inclusive representation, rule of law, and protection of the rights and liberties of individuals within the political parties must be encouraged by all democrats and democratic institutions.
“It was against this backdrop of the lack of inclusivity that characterised the build-up to the convention held in Anambra State, making it contrary to the Federal High Court’s judgment of Friday, July 23, 2021, which ordered parties in the Labour Party leadership tussle “to maintain status quo ante bellum in order not to disturb the rest of the matter pending further order of the court.”
“In the same vein, in the judgment of the Federal High Court in Suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2014 between Labour Party and 3 Ors. vs. Com. Salisu Muhammed, the court unequivocally declared the Labour Party as an institutional political party founded, promoted, and registered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on behalf of the Nigerian workers.
“In this light, the Julius Abure faction of the party misfired by holding the purported national convention of the Labour Party when it fell short of “an expansive and inclusive” exercise as ordered in a widely publicised subsisting court order.
“Leaving out NLC and other critical stakeholders in its consultations ahead of the convention was a miscalculated move as we recall that the former national chairman of Labour Party, High Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, on leaving office, submitted the Labour Party’s certificate of registration to the union in recognition of Labour Party as an institutional political party founded, promoted, and registered by the NLC.
“For us, the current leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party is needless and avoidable if basic ingredients of democracy, including inclusivity, justice, and accountability, were observed,” the CNPP stated.
Adedapo Adesanya