On Saturday, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party accused the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, of seeking to replace the National Chairman, Julius Abure.
News About Nigeria gathered that the accusation comes in response to an open letter penned by the Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission on Friday.
The letter, jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the commission, Titus Amba and Chris Uyot, accused Abure and the NWC of planning a ‘secret’ national convention in Umuahia, Abia State capital, on March 27, aimed at re-electing Abure as the party’s chairman to continue running the Labour Party as a ‘sole administrator’.
The commission alleged that the circular proposing the convention was passed without the input of stakeholders, particularly the NLC.
It also claimed that Abure had previously attempted to unilaterally extend his tenure in office by two years in April 2023 but was stopped at the instance of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
In response, the leadership of the Labour Party pushed back against the directive, labelling it as a move orchestrated by Ajaero due to his alleged ambition to become the next national chairman of the party.
The National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, stated in a press release titled ‘Resign as NLC President to Contest LP Chairmanship, Labour Party advises Joe Ajero’, that the party would not take orders from unionists who are not card-carrying members of their party.
Ifoh said that the planned national convention scheduled for March 27 in Umuahia would proceed as planned.
He urged Ajaero and his loyalists to officially join the race for the party’s leadership position if they were not content with the existing provisions.
He urged the NLC to focus on its statutory responsibilities of defending workers’ rights rather than interfering in party politics.
In conclusion, Ifoh said the Labour Party will forge ahead with its party programmes and hold the scheduled convention.
