Labour Party begins moves to discipline Abia State governor, Otti for anti party activities

 

By Chinedu Echianu

The leadership of Labour Party (LP) has set up a disciplinary committee to check what it described as the unwarranted and illegal interference by some of its members in the running of the party.

 

National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure while inaugurating the disciplinary committee at the Party’s Headquarters in Abuja Tuesday after a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) which held on Monday August 26, accused the Abia state governor, Alex Otti of orchestrating a plot to destabilize the party.

 

Reading a communique which was reached at the end of the NWC meeting, Abure said plans by the Abia state governor to convene a National Executive Council Meeting on August 31st in order to dissolve the National, State, Local Government and Ward Executive Councils of the party is illegal as he has no such powers in the labour party constitution and the electoral Act.

 

Abure insisted that the claim by the governor and some other members of the party that the tenure of the NWC has expired is false as there was a National Convention in March 2024 in Nnewi, Anambra state where he (Abure) was elected as National Chairman of the party in the presence of the representative of the Abia state governor and other members of the party in the state.

 

The communique read in parts;

“Conscious of the fact that the tenure of the executives was to last till June 2024, the National Convention of the Party was held in March 27, 2024 at Nnewi, Anambra State at which the Governor of Abia State was ably represented by his deputy governor who also doubled as the Chairman of the Convention Committee. It must be noted that most of the government functionaries from Abia State including the Deputy Governor, Commissioners, Chief of Staff and indeed all the Labour Party State Assembly members led by the Speaker of the House, Senior Special Assistants and other aides of the governor, were present at that Convention.

 

“It must be stressed that under the Laws of the land which include the following: the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, the Labour Party Constitution and indeed, all other laws of the land were adhered to in convening that Convention.

 

“Article 14 of the Labour Party Constitution provides that it is only the National Chairman and the National Secretary of the Party who can convene the meetings of the National Working Committee, National Executive Committee and National Convention or any other national meeting of the Party.”

 

The disciplinary committee has the legal Adviser of the Party, Barrister Kehinde Edun as chairman while the National Secretary, Umar Farouk-Ibrabim is committee Secretary. Other members include, Chief Clement Ojukwu, Deputy National Chairman; Dr. Ayo Olorunfemi, Deputy National Chairman; Dudu M. Manuga, National Women Leader; Barrister Callistus Ihejiagwa Chairman Imo State.

 

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