Call For NEC Meeting Illegal, Fake – Labour Party Fires Apapa’s Faction

The Labour Party (LP) has distanced itself from the national executive council meeting planned by Lamidi Apapa-led faction, describing it as “illegal, fake and unauthourised”.

Recall that Apapa had invited the party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and other chieftains to a NEC meeting scheduled for May 3rd.

The letter dated April 28, 2023, and titled, ‘Invitation To The Labour Party (LP) National Executive Council, NEC Meeting,’ was signed by Apapa, Acting National Chairman and Alhaji Saleh Lawan, Acting National Secretary, Naija News understands.

The invitation letter read, “You are hereby invited to the main National Executive Council, NEC Meeting of the Labour Party, LP coming up on the 3rd May 2023 at Bauchi, in Bauchi state.

“This is as a result of the 5th April, 2023 FCT High Court Order restraining Julius Abure and four (4) others from parading themselves as officers of the labour party, LP.

“In compliance with the constitution of the party and the court order, we shall be having the validly convened NEC as stipulated above.”

Reacting in a statement to journalists, LP’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said the proposed NEC meeting by the Apapa-led faction scheduled for May 3 is illegal.

The party called on the management of the hotel where the meeting is planning to hold to refuse offering their venue for the meeting.

Ifoh said: “It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Labour Party of a proposed illegal, fake and unauthourised National Executive Council meeting organised by the suspended deputy national chairman, Lamidi Apapa and his renegade cohorts, expected to hold May 3 in Bauchi state.

“This is coming barely two weeks after the party held its very successful NEC meeting in Asaba, Delta state, that was attended by virtually all NEC members including 36 state chairmen and secretaries, all members of the National Working Committee, most of the elected members of the national assembly, leader and presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, party trustees including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) amongst others.

“In a memo signed by the former deputy national chairman, Apapa, they extended the invitation to some of our elected leaders including our presidential candidate, people they neither supported during their campaigns nor recognised as leaders of the party. These are people they are surreptitiously working to terminate their cases in the various tribunals. We concluded that the temerity to even invite these leaders was purely for publicity ops and stunts which they knew were dead on arrival.

“It is only mischievous minds that will want to obey the FCT high court order without also respecting the Edo state high court order which bars any party agents including these renegades from tampering with the status quo even when they know that both courts are of equal and coordinate jurisdiction.

“Article 13:2A of our party constitution is clear on the composition of the Labour Party NEC, and it did not state that expelled and suspended officers of the party shall regroup and convene a NEC of the party. The question is; who are they hoping to attend the NEC, if not their usual customers; touts, market women, street hawkers. And people who are not members of the party.

“We are using this medium to alert Nigerians that the proposed NEC meeting scheduled to hold on the 3rd of May in Bauchi is illegal. They have no powers to call for NEC, they have been suspended by NEC. This illegal gathering has been reported to the Police, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and they have no intention to monitor the shenanigan. INEC in any case does not even know of any other Labour Party as no court in Nigeria has given any judgement on the case.”