LP crisis: NLC demands Abure’s resignation

The Nigeria Labour Congress has urged the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, to resign from office to avert plunging the party into a crisis that could jeopardise its 2027 electioneering campaign.

Acting Chairman of the NLC Political Commission, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, said this in an interview with Sunday news

Ndubuaku disclosed that the embattled LP Chairman had, through his lawyer, sought an out-of-court settlement two weeks before the Supreme Court judgment, seeking to step down in exchange for certain conditions.

According to the union leader, Abure still has the opportunity to honour his pledge before the NLC takes a drastic decision to eventually ‘flush him out’ of the party secretariat.

He said, “After the National Transition Committee set up by the stakeholders asked him to vacate the secretariat, Abure ran to court, where he challenged the NLC and NTC leadership. That case came up in the Federal High Court, Zuba.

“After our response to their submissions by our counsel, Abure’s lawyer told the judge they were no longer interested in continuing with the case, adding that Abure had agreed to yield the chairmanship seat to us, based on certain terms he didn’t state.

They requested more time for an out-of-court settlement, and the judge gave them up to the 28th of June to bring their settlement or adoption to court. This same Abure took that position two weeks before the Supreme Court ruling. So, what has now changed?

His case is like that of someone with a mental illness. This is no longer a game. Abure is still sitting tight despite knowing that he has been removed.”

But reacting, Abure’s camp denied that the LP chair requested a soft landing in exchange for giving up his position.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, said, “It is not true. That is propaganda. There is nothing like that. We didn’t have any out-of-court settlements or any commitment like that with anybody, let alone the NLC.

“Are these not the same people going for discussions on coalition and trying to use the party as a transactional vehicle? They want to sell the party. No, it is not possible.”