Not minding refusal of Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court to vacate an interim order restraining him and few others from parading themselves as leaders of the party, embattled National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, has forcefully taken over headquaters of the party.
Amidst conflicting judgements from courts, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Monday, led a delegation of workers’ unions to reinstate the embattled national chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure.
The counsel to Abure, Alex Ejesieme, had prayed the court to vacate the interim order and restore a semblance of sanity after a takeover of the Labour Party national secretariat by another faction. Justice Muazu rather fixed April 20 to take all applications in respect of the case amidst a call by counsel of the embattled national officers of the party to have the matter heard speedily.
The senior lawyer said the division in the party following the interim order has worsened to the point that four groups in the Imo State chapter of the Labour Party held parallel primaries
Justice Muazu by way of intervention however ordered all parties in the suit to ensure speedy filing of their processes for a speedy hearing of the case.
Amidst conflicting judgements from courts, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Monday, led a delegation of workers’ unions to reinstate the embattled national chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure.
On the other hand, NLC President, Joe Ajaero who led Abure to take over Labour Party headquaters alleged that the bright fortune of the party was attracting impostors who are bent on crippling the party by all means, a move he said will be resisted by the working class.
Ajaero also threatened that Nigerian workers might be compelled to occupy the residential homes of suspected impostors, some of whom orchestrated the suspension of Abure as national chairman of the party.
Justnews recalls that a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, had ordered Abure to stop parading himself as the national chairman of the party a week after a ward in the Edo State chapter of the party suspended him over alleged anti-party activities.
Shortly after the court order, the party’s national vice chairman, Lamido Bashir Apapa, who had been accused of being sponsored by the opposition parties, took over the party in an acting capacity.
But in another twist, a High Court in Benin gave a counterorder, restraining anybody from removing the embattled party chairman from his office.
Ajaero, who was accompanied by the NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, TUC leaders and other labour leaders as well as hundreds of workers, to the secretariat, said as trustees of the party, nobody is mandated to occupy any position in the party without their consent.
Ajaero said: “Today, we have come to say enough is enough. Never again will those imposters enter here, under any guise, under any order. Even if we lose our leadership, we have to meet as trustees of this Labour Party to decide the next line of action.
“For anybody to illegally declare himself either as chairman, secretary or whatever, we urge all workers anywhere in the country, where you see such people, arrest them and bring them to us. The hour has come.”
He also added: “As the fastest-growing party, you can see that envy, jealousy is creeping in. The people that are pioneering this, to sabotage us, let’s announce here that we know your fathers. If you continue this way, we will go after your fathers.”
Additional report from Daily Post
