The ongoing crisis within the Labour Party (LP) intensified as the party’s only governor, Dr. Alex Otti, and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, joined others in electing former Finance Minister Mrs. Nenadi Usman as the caretaker Chairman of the party.
Mr. Daniel Gambo, a member of the national transition committee established by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), confirmed this development to newsmen on Wednesday.
He stated that Usman was elected to lead the party’s 29-member national caretaker committee.
The election took place at the Banquet Hall of the Abia Government House in Umuahia, the state capital, on Wednesday. The meeting was convened by Governor Otti and attended by Peter Obi, his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed, and other key figures.
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“The stakeholders met at the Banquet hall of Abia state government house during which Hon. Senator Nenadi Usman was unanimously nominated to chair the newly constituted LP caretaker committee to see to the conduct of state congresses and the all inclusive national convention. The secretary is Hon Darlington Onwokocha,” Gambo said.
He also mentioned that the house approved the formation of a 29-member committee, which includes representatives from the Senate, House of Representatives, the six geopolitical zones, as well as the NLC and TUC.
Meanwhile, the beleaguered national chairman of the LP, Barrister Julius Abure, has rejected Nenadi Usman’s appointment.
Abure dismissed the Abia meeting as invalid and maintained that he remains the legitimate national chairman of the party.
A statement issued by the national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh, labeled Usman’s appointment as illegal and unconstitutional.
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“We firmly believe in the leadership of our National Chairman Barrister Julius Abure and the National Working Committee and remain committed to working together with them as a united and focused party to achieve our common goals and deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Nigeria,” he said.
He criticized the basis on which Governor Otti convened the meeting, describing it as both faulty and mischievous.
“Government business is not transacted verbally but through official communication and correspondences which are done in writing. As we speak, there is no communication whatsoever from INEC to the Party as regards any objection to the conduct of the National Convention.
“We challenge Alex Otti to produce the official letter addressed to him from INEC on the subject matter. There is no vacuum in the leadership of the Party. Consequently, the so-called caretaker committee set up by the Governor of Abia State is not known to the constitution of the Party and can best be described as a department in Abia State Government House.
“We are shocked to note that the so-called chairman of the caretaker committee is not a registered member of the Party. She surfaced during the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign to assist Peter Obi in his campaign,” Ifoh said.
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