The Labour Party (LP) finds itself embroiled in a leadership crisis following the expiration of the tenure of its National Working Committee (NWC) headed by Mr. Julius Abure. The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, led by Comrade S.O.Z. Ejiofor, has stepped in to address the situation and avoid a leadership vacuum.
Despite the national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, which saw the re-election of Julius Abure as national chairman for a second term, the BoT has announced its intention to conduct an all-inclusive and expansive national convention. This move is in accordance with a Federal High Court consent judgment from 2018, which mandated the holding of such a convention.
The BoT emphasized its commitment to reclaiming and repositioning the Labour Party, promising to involve all genuine members in the convention process from the grassroots level upwards. However, it criticized the convention held in Nnewi as a “charade” and expressed gratitude to key stakeholders, including Mr. Peter Obi, for declining to participate.
Meanwhile, the convention in Nnewi saw Abure’s re-election alongside the announcement that the party’s ticket for the 2027 presidential election would be reserved for Peter Obi. The convention also called on President Bola Tinubu to address rising insecurity and inflation in the country.
However, the legitimacy of the Nnewi convention has been questioned by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other factions within the party, labeling it as illegal and a nullity. The Alhaji Lamidi Apapa faction dismissed the convention as a sham, highlighting the absence of key party members and stakeholders.
The LP now finds itself at a crossroads, with competing claims to leadership and divergent paths forward. The intervention of the BoT indicates a desire to restore unity and legitimacy within the party, but it remains to be seen how the leadership crisis will be resolved and what implications it may have for the party’s future.