“We will not allow Labour Party to fall” – NLC vows

The Nigeria Labour Congress has committed to preventing any attempt to bring down the Labour Party, especially given that it is now enjoying widespread support among Nigerians.

The pledge was made when, behind heavy security, the labor union’s leadership invaded the Labour Party’s national secretariat in Utako, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to demonstrate support for the National Chairman, Julius Abure, who is under fire.

The NLC, led by Joe Ajaero, its National President, has pledged to root out anyone attempting to assume the party’s leadership.

According to news sources, the LP is currently experiencing a leadership crisis as a result of an interim injunction issued by the Abuja High Court preventing Abure from acting as the national chairman.

Lamido Apapa, the party’s national vice chairman for the south, acted as the chairman in response to the FCT court decision.

Speaking to employees at the LP secretariat, the NLC president said that the party was founded as a result of dissatisfaction with current political behavior in Nigeria, emphasising that there were established protocols to follow before any change in leadership.

The labor movement, he said, would under no circumstances permit anyone to undermine the party they had worked so hard to purge of imposters.

“Today, we say enough is enough. Never again will any human being enter here under any guise, under any order. Even if we lose our leadership, we have to meet as trustees of this party to decide the next line of action.

“For anybody to illegally declare himself either as chairman, secretary or anything, we urge all workers anywhere in the country, where you see such people, arrest them and bring them to us.

“The hour has come. The Bible says, ‘from the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of God suffereth violence. And violence taketh by force’. Now we have come to take our party, we have come to establish our party. As the fastest-growing party, you can see that envy and jealousy is crippling 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. We leave it here until we finish our private discussion. Let it be known to the whole world that the NLC fathered LP and we will not abandon our child,” Ajaero said.

In the meantime, the court on Monday refused to overturn the temporary injunction prohibiting Abure, the National Secretary, Alhaji Farouk Ibrahim, and two other individuals from misrepresenting themselves as party leaders.

Alex Ejieseme (SAN), the attorney for Abure, had asked the court to overturn the interim injunction, claiming that the restraint order had made the party’s divide worse to the point that four groups in the Imo State chapter held parallel primaries.

However, Justice Mnuazu rejected the prayer and instead issued a directive to all parties requiring prompt filing of their legal proceedings.

The judge postponed hearing all pending applications until April 20.