By Paul Effiong
Labour Party Caucus in the House of Representatives has lauded the Supreme Court’s judgment which removed Julius Abure as national chairman of the party, noting that it is an elixir for LP’s stability and reinvention.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Chairman of the Caucus, Afam Ogene and made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja.
In the statement, the caucus maintained that the ruling serves as a warning to leaders who play ‘god’ in a democracy, warning that people ought to hold the ultimate authority.
The apex court had set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which recognised Abure as the National Chairman of LP.
In an unanimous judgment yesterday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to pronounce Abure as the National Chairman of LP, having earlier determined that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
Ogene stated that following this clear-cut judgment, Labour Party will hasten to implement the necessary mechanisms to restore internal peace and get the party back on track, in order to reassure its members of its viability for future elections and its commitment to a leadership that prioritizes the interests and welfare of the people.
In fact, by next week, we expect the National Caretaker Committee, NCC, led by a former Minister of Finance, Senator Esther Usman, to convene an all-inclusive stakeholders meeting to chart the way forward.
The lawmaker emphasized that the party’s leadership crisis could have been prevented if the ousted chairman and his team heeded the caucus advice or addressed the concerns of other stakeholders.
These stakeholders, Ogene stated had urged caution and greater sensitivity in managing the party’s affairs. But in a brazen display of arrogance and naked power-mongering, Abure had ignored these warnings, thus creating an environment for crisis to fester.
For instance, in March 2024, LP Reps called for the postponement of the national convention of the party scheduled to take place by the end of that month, in order to allow further consultations in the light of the party’s lingering leadership skirmishes.
The caucus had emphasized at the time that the party’s health and sustainability are paramount, given its internal conflict. And as direct representatives of the people, they felt that the party needed time to resolve its leadership issues and operational problems before holding a potentially divisive convention.
But rather than heed that patriotic call, according to Ogene, the party’s leadership proceeded to unleash tirades against them, abusing them in the media and threatening that they would be denied tickets for re-election in 2027. That was not only insensitive, but undemocratic and disrespectful to the caucus, whose only concern was the peace, unity, sustainability and progress of the party.
“It is this uncertainty of not being sure of getting tickets in the next general elections that made the caucus to lose as much as six members,” Ogene explained.
