The Labour Party (LP) has alerted Nigerians that the faction led by the suspended Deputy National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa, and his cohorts, were planning a National Executive Council expected to hold May 3 in Bauchi state.
A statement on Sunday by the Acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said this was coming barely two weeks after the party held its very successful NEC meeting in Asaba, Delta state that was attended by virtually all NEC members.
The statement read, “It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Labour Party of a proposed illegal, fake and unauthourized National Executive Council meeting organized by the suspended Deputy National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa and his renegade cohorts, expected to hold May 3 in Bauchi state.
“This is coming barely two weeks after the party held its very successful NEC meeting in Asaba, Delta state that was attended by virtually all NEC members including 36 state chairmen and Secretaries, all members of the National Working Committee, most of the elected members of the national assembly, leader and presidential candidate of the party, Mr. Peter Obi, party trustees including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) amongst others.
“In a memo signed by the former Deputy National Chairman, Apapa, they extended the invitation to some of our elected leaders including our presidential candidate, people they neither supported during their campaigns nor recognized as leaders of the party.
“These are people they are surreptitiously working to terminate their cases in the various tribunals. We concluded that the temerity to even invite these leaders was purely for publicity ops and stunts which they knew were dead on arrival.
“It is only mischievous minds that will want to obey the FCT High Court order without also respecting the Edo state High Court order which bars any party agents including these renegades from tampering with the status quo even when they know that both courts are of equal and coordinate jurisdiction.
“Article 13:2A of our party constitution is clear on the composition of the Labour Party NEC, and it did not state that expelled and suspended officers of the party shall regroup and convene a NEC of the party. The question is; who are they hoping to attend the NEC, if not their usual customers; touts, market women, street hawkers.and people who are not members of the party.
“We are using this medium to alert Nigerians that the proposed NEC meeting scheduled to hold on the 3rd of May in Bauchi is illegal. They have no powers to call for NEC, they have been suspended by NEC. This illegal gathering has been reported to the Police, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and they have no intention to monitor the shenanigan. INEC in any case does not even know of any other Labour Party as no court in Nigeria has given any judgement on the case.
“We are also by this statement calling on the hotel management where they are proposing to hold the illegal meeting not to give out their venue for illegal activities for obvious consequences. Members of the general public should disregard them and should have nothing to do with them.
“We have it on good authority that their sponsors are leaving nothing to chance and have vowed to continue to instigate crisis in Labour Party with the intention of benefiting from the instability which they hope will affect the party’s case at the tribunal. These men who have no means of livelihood, a few days ago flew into Owerri on a private jet and have continued to lodge in five star hotels in Abuja.
“We are calling on Nigerians and particularly, members of Labour Party and supporters of Peter Obi to be resilient in the battle before us and pray that these destructive agents will soon be subdued by higher forces of creation and that their lucrative enterprise will soon meet a brick wall.”
