A crucial stakeholders meeting of the Labour Party held in Umuahia, Abia State, on September 4, has validated the position of the Abdulwahed Omar-led National Transition Committee (NTC) that the tenure of the Julius Abure-led National Executive Council (NEC) expired in June 2024.
The meeting, attended by Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, elected national and state lawmakers, members of the Board of Trustees, and leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, among others, unanimously agreed that the Abure-led NEC’s tenure had ended.
Governor Otti, in his opening remarks, emphasized the importance of the meeting, stating that stakeholders must not allow the Labour Party to die, as it was the only hope to redeem Nigeria from its current governance challenges. He assured attendees that he and Peter Obi were committed to the party and would not leave, despite speculation to the contrary.
Otti further explained that he had studied the Justice Gabriel Kolawole consent judgment of 2018 and the subsequent INEC-brokered terms of settlement signed by Abure with the NLC, both of which agreements Abure and his NEC defied consistently. He cited the two occasions where INEC expelled Abure from its meetings, indicating that the party was in danger of having no recognized lawful leadership in the electoral commission’s records.
Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, also spoke in line with Governor Otti, disclosing that he had advised the Abure group against the Nnewi convention, but his advice was unheeded.
In response to the meeting’s resolutions, the embattled former chairman, Julius Abure, rejected the stakeholders’ decisions, including the announcement of a new caretaker committee. However, the leadership of the NLC Political Commission and the NTC, led by Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku and Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, respectively, clarified that the Umuahia meeting marked a new beginning for the Labour Party.
Prof. Ndubuaku stated that the NLC Political Commission and its NTC committee believed that the Peter Obi and Alex Otti-led organizers were reasonable leaders who desired the unity and harmony of the party. He expressed optimism that they would seek the NLC Political Commission’s and TUC’s opinion in the formation and appointment of the caretaker committee’s members.
Ndubuaku also confirmed that INEC was not present at the Umuahia meeting to witness and enroll the resolutions, and that only two officers, the chairman and secretary, were announced. He assured that the remaining members would be listed and subjected to harmony-promoting consultations before announcement and inauguration.
The meeting’s outcome has significant implications for the Labour Party, as it seeks to reposition itself for future elections. The NLC Political Commission is reportedly in discussions to re-name, retain, and sustain the Labour Party National Transition Committee (NTC) as an organ of strategic conflict management, engagement, and resolution, policy study, and programmes development of the NLC.