James Ezema, Abuja
The National Transition Committee (NTC) of Labour Party, the highest public engagement body of the party headed by a former chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Statesman Omar Abdulwaheed, has hailed the suspension of Barr. Julius Abure from the Labour Party by the ward executive council of his home ward and state.
Delivering the commendation today in Abuja through the chairman of the NTC’s sub-committee on Media and Publicity, Comrade Tony Akeni, Omar Abdulwaheed said the courageous action led by Abure’s ward chairman, Mr. Thompson Ehiguese, and his ward officers, which has been corroborated and consolidated by the state executive council of the state Labour Party under Mr. Kelly Ogbaloi deserves, nothing but applause.
“As a law-abiding party and process respecting committee,” Omar said, “we have been waiting for the documents of the suspension action before putting a statement out. The National Transition Committee received them today and our legal experts have thoroughly analysed them. The infractions adduced in the document of suspension correspond with solid evidences of Abure’s incredible combinations of gross administrative, financial and anti-party misconduct already long in our possession.”
“Having done that due diligence,” the Labour veteran continued, “I wish to assure you that our party in Edo state have done a splendid and legally impeccable job of Abure’s suspension, and could even have gone farther!”
Speaking through Comrade Akeni, Omar said: “From a plethora of evidence before us, the Abure we all now know is a walking mountain of anti-party contraventions against both our party’s constitution and the laws of Nigeria. Like a burst abscess, the suspension comes as a huge relief to the body of our party both in Edo state and nationwide.”
Omar further said, “Let me make a further necessary clarification on the action that just took place a few days ago in Edo state. Please, note this very well. Julius Abure was not suspended from our party as national chairman of the party but as an ordinary member of the party.
“This is because by the Justice Gabriel Kolawole consent judgement of March 20, 2018 and by the mediation terms of a sequel irrefutable agreement signed on the 27th of June 2022 between the suspended former national chairman, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the incontestable owners and landlord of Labour Party, an agreement whose terms and documents were witnessed and are in co-custody of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abure’s chairmanship tenure and his entire National Working Committee (NWC) comprehensively terminated since the 27th of June, 2023.
“The documents of that judgement and its legal ramifications are in the public domain for every sincere Labour Party member, public researcher and legal pundit to examine for themselves,” the NTC chairman, Omar Abdulwaheed, stated.
Following the above clarification, the veteran labour statesman informed journalists of the nation that the transition committee has received information that Edo state Labour Party members, supporters and Obidients are visiting Abuja soon to present documents of their suspension actions served on Abure to our party’s national headquarters and to buttress their grievances to national law enforcement authorities in the country’s capital.
Omar asked the Nigeria police, DSS and other law enforcement authorities to give maximum protection to the peaceful outings of the Edo Labour Party stakeholders while they are in Abuja, and not reverse the case where moneybag crime suspects like Abure are protected and because of corrupt inducements are supported to turn the police against the actual victims of their crimes.
Fielding questions from journalists, Comrade Tony Akeni, chairman of the NTC’s sub-committee on Media and Publicity, threw light on the grievances of the Edo Labour Party suspension action on Abure.
“To be double sure of the facts before our NTC,” Akeni said, “I spoke last night (Saturday May 25th) with the secretary of our party in Edo state, Comrade Fred Akhere. You need armour plates to protect your ears from the shocking escapades of Abure’s financial craftmanship revealed by Akhere.”
According to Comrade Akeni, Akhere told him: “Abure received over #460million from the sales of governorship forms alone within less than two months earlier this year. As the state secretary of the party I am in a position to know, so I’m not guessing. This is besides unofficial sums running to much more from aspirants falling over themselves to ingratiate themselves to Abure in the run-up to the governorship primary.
“Abure and his co-fraudsters of the national exco drew similar cash rain in the Ondo state governorship primary of our party. I can tell you that Labour Party’s chance in Ondo is completely doomed because in agreement among themselves they set up a candidate there they know can never win but is put up for trading with the APC governor in Ondo as Abure is doing with Obaseki here in Edo state.
“During the period spanning the general elections of 2023,” Akhere continued, “literally billions of naira from Edo and other states of the country flowed into Abure’s pockets from aspirants, candidates, enthusiastic donors and goodwill supporters of our party. We have clear information on how much our presidential candidate Peter Obi sent to Edo state for the presidential election alone of February 25, 2023. Abure gave to Edo state exco only #5million throughout the period to work for Peter Obi’s presidential election. Yes, you heard me right: exactly #5million!
“We of the state exco had to scramble from pillar to post to make the difference as the nation’s hub of the Obidient movement. Yet when you come to our state secretariat, you will not see a sign of such huge funding inflow to our party by way of physical and amenity improvement,” Akhere lamented, beside himself with rage.
“Today,” the state secretary Akhere continued, “the same Abure and our state’s PDP governor, Godwin Obaseki, are hiding behind one finger exchanging billions of naira to sell out and sabotage the absolutely certain victory of our party’s candidate, Barr. Olumide Akpata, in the forthcoming governorship election. Abure is so wicked that the devil has to be his student.”
Confirming the squalid state of the Edo state secretariat of Labour Party, Comrade Tony Akeni said: “It is dingy, stripped of civilization and so repugnant it looks like a native doctor’s shrine. It licks in every place like a sponge during rainy seasons when I visited last,” the publicity head said.
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