Some members of the National Working Committee of the Labour Party (LP) led by the Deputy National Chairman of the party (South) Lamidi Bashir Apapa have taken over the affairs of the party following a court judgment restraining Julius Abure and three others from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
The development took place in Abuja on Thursday during an emergency meeting of the LP National Working Committee (NWC).
Lamidi said he is now the Acting National Chairman of the party while Saleh Lawan is the Acting National Secretary.
According to him, Abure and the three others must vacate the order of the Federal High Court retraining them before further action can be taken on the leadership of the party.
The emergence NWC meeting also reinstated Executive Council members from Ogun State, Rivers State, and Gombe State.
During the meeting, Lamidi also reversed the suspension of Eragbe Anslem as the National Youth Leader and Yomi Arabambi as the National Publicity Secretary.
“The NWC equally reviewed that recently there are some cases of suspensions that were badly handled. And this National Working Committee meeting has reviewed them, and the suspension all over are hereby reviewed and the officers are reinstated.
“With effect from now, the so-called officers who the court had barred should not parade themselves as officers of the party until cases against them are treated or handled by the party,” he said
He also denied the allegation that the party has been invaded by the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying the current leadership believes extensively in the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi.
Reacting, the embattled LP chairman, Julius Abure alleged that thugs have invaded the National Headquarters of the party adding that the so-called thugs who are armed reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and windows to have access to the secretariat and in the process sacked workers and party members.
Abure also accused the ruling party, APC of behind the invasion with the help of Nigeria Police Force.
“A few minutes ago, the national headquarters of the Labour Party in Abuja witnessed a massive attack and was broken into by a detachment of the Nigerian Police and thugs believed to be working for the All Progressives Congress, APC,” he said
“The Invaders who are armed reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and windows to have access to our Secretariat and in the process sacked workers and party members who were at the Secretariat.
“Though, I was out of town but information has it that the agenda of the Invaders was to inaugurate an illegitimate executive which has been chosen for them by their sponsors.
“This incident is coming days after a similar invasion in our Imo state Secretariat which up till now is still being occupied by the agents of the Imo state government.
“Only yesterday (Wednesday), our presidential candidate, Peter Obi through the LP Presidential Campaign Council alerted Nigerians of a plot to hound him out of the country over APC’s covert plot in collaboration with some security agents to frame him up allegedly on matters bothering on treason.
“Labour Party is only a political party which is contesting for power. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has conducted an election that ranked us third, a position we have rejected and have approached the Tribunal to contest. That is our only offence.
“We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party, the APC to order and also rein them in from using unorthodox means to suffocate political structures in Nigeria.”
Abure maintained that he remains the National Chairman of the party
“A court of competent jurisdiction only yesterday ordered that I, Julius Abure remain the National Chairman, and should not be restrained from performing my duties, it, therefore, baffles me why the Nigerian Police should allow itself to be used to perpetrate illegalities.
“We advise the Police, APC and their sponsors to play by the rules. We will no longer tolerate the often intimidation and deployment of brute forces against the party and their personnel.
“We demand they put a stop to the abuse of power and respect the rights and privileges of other political parties, particularly, the Labour Party to contest for power,” he added