Drama As Lamidi Apapa Declares Himself Labour Party Chairman, Sacks Julius Abure

The Deputy National Chairman of the Labour Party (South), Lamidi Apapa has declared himself as the Acting National Chairman of the party.

The declaration came after the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, and three others were restrained by the Federal High Court in Abuja from parading themselves as national officers of the Labour Party.

Justice Hamza Muazu ordered that the originating processes of the court be served on the restrained officials – Abure, the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu.

Martins John, Lucky Shaibu, Isah Zekeri, Omogbai Frank, Abokhaiu Aliu, Ayohkaire Lateef, Job Elomah, and Abayomi Arabambi, the plaintiffs, told the court that the defendants forged several documents of the FCT high court to carry out unlawful substitutions in the last elections.

The judge held that the ex parte application for an interim injunction restraining the four officials by aggrieved members of the LP before the court has merit and granted the same.

Lamidi Apapa Declare Self LP Acting National Chairman

After ejecting Abure, a faction of the Labour Party held an emergency National Working Committee (NWC) meeting presided by the Deputy National Chairman of the party (South), Lamidi Apapa.

Speaking after an emergency meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja, Apapa said he was in charge since a court had restrained Abure and three others from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

Lamidi said he is now the Acting National Chairman of the Labour 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 emergency 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.

Julius Abure Insist He’s Still LP National Chairman

However, in a statement on Thursday, Abure insisted that he’s still the chairman, decribing the court order as “illegitimate” and a ploy by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilise the party.

Abure also alleged that a detachment of the Police accompanied the thugs believed to be working for the ruling APC broke into LP national headquarters and chased away workers.

He said, “The invaders who are armed reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and window 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.

“Labour Party is only a political party which is contesting for power. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC having conducted election 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 then in from using unorthodox means to suffocate political structures in Nigeria.

“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,” Abure said.

KanyiDaily recalls that the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi had recently filed a petition against the victory of APC’s Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Elections Tribunal in Abuja.