The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday picketed the Labour Party headquarters to press home its demand for the immediate resignation of the party’s national chairman, Mr. Julius Abure.
Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, Deputy President of the NLC Political Commission, while addressing newsmen during the picketing in Abuja, said the Congress had passed a vote of no confidence in Abure.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the NLC Political Commission had alleged that Abure convened a national convention of the party as if he had sole proprietorship over it.
Subsequently, the NLC Political Commission called for his immediate resignation.
NAN reports that the protesting workers carried placards with inscriptions such as “Bye-bye to Abure; the Labour Party is our party,” Our party, our hope, and “Away with corrupt leaders in the party, among others.
Ndubuaku said that the picketing at the headquarters of the party was to express workers’ grievances towards Abure’s administration of the party.
According to him, Nigeria is not the only country that has a political party backed by organised labour.
“Why would our own be different? The essence of registering a Labour Party in this country is not only to become president or officeholder but also to create a viable opposition.
“Any country where there is no viable opposition, then there would be dictatorship. The reason we set up this party is to have good governance in this country.
“There have been court judgments declaring the Labour Party as being owned by the NLC, and there has been intervention by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), telling Abure to appoint members of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
“They have also told Abure to organise an all-inclusive convention, but what we now see is a notice of a convention that we do not know about.
“We do not know who the delegates are that are going to be at that convention, and even the elected officers in the National Assembly (NASS) are not aware of this, ”he said.
Ndubuakun noted that, a day before Abure issued the notice of the convention, he was with the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, and the members of the political commission at the Congress headquarters, but he did not inform them.
“All we are saying is that we do not want Abure; he should resign and go. He cannot be the sole administrator of the Labour Party,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr. Bello Ismail, Acting General Secretary of the NLC, said that the commission had been engaging Abure on issues concerning the party, but he failed to inform them of the upcoming convention of the party.
Ismail said that Abure did not follow due process as it concerned the plans for the party’s convention.
“We were also thinking that he was going to organise a convention in line with the understanding of organised labour.
“But Abure, knowing that he could never agree to an all-inclusive convention, wanted to do the convention by himself.
“Those in the NLC Political Commission have put in a lot of effort in the party and
We would insist that all democratic norms are fulfilled.
“We will insist that workers take back their party. We want a convention where all the stakeholders—workers, youths, and informal workers, among others—are involved.
“The party is now in the hands of usurpers, who are looking for N30 million or N40 million for the purchase of forms. excluding the people who founded the party,” he said.
Mr. Chris Uyot, General Secretary of the Commission, said it was wrong for Abure to plan a convention without consultation with the stakeholders of the party.
Uyot noted that the NLC Political Commission would not allow the convention to take place.
We are not going to have a dictator in our party; it is not going to be possible. Nigerian workers are democratic, and they support democracy.
“Nigerian workers owned this party and would ensure they took hold of their party and would drive out the dictators, ”he said. (NAN)
