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Labour Party NEC Suspends Abure, Farouk for Six Months - THISDAYLIVE

Published 1 month ago8 minute read

.Arabambi: LP lost 2023 presidential elections over inability to pay 54,000 agents, N10,000 stipends

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos

The leadership crisis within the Labour Party (LPP) is not by any way abating as the he Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party National Caretaker Committee (LP-NCC) has announced the suspension of former National Chairman and Secretary of the party, Julius Abure and Alhaji Farouk Umar, for a period of six months.

Also,three members of the House of Representatives namely, Hon. Afam Ogene, Leader of the LP Caucus, Seyi Sowunmi, Deputy Leader and Amobi Ogah, in a joint statement yesterday described their purported suspension from the party as “laughable and a joke carried too far” by Abure.

This was as a factional National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has attributed the party’s loss at the 2023 Presidential election to the inability to pay N10,000 mobilisation stipends to 54,000 party polling unit agents, and instead relied on ‘Obidients’ (Peter Obi supporters) to provide pro bono services.

The suspension of Abure and Umar was contained in a statement signed by Usman and the LP-NCC’s Secretary, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, in Abuja.

The party leadership said the decision was a sequel to the findings of the Senator Ireti Kingibe-led six-member Disciplinary Committee, inaugurated on Wednesday.

The statement read, “Following an in-depth investigation by a committee led by Senator Ireti Kingibe and High Chief Peter Ameh, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party has ratified the committee’s recommendations concerning the anti-party activities and gross misappropriation of party funds by the former acting National Chairman, Barr. Julius Abure, and others. The investigative report revealed significant financial misconduct and prompted the following disciplinary actions:

“Barr. Julius Abure has been suspended for an initial period of six months and is prohibited from presenting himself as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

“Mr. Umar Farouk, the former National Secretary, was identified as a co-signer in most of the fraudulent bank withdrawals and transfers alongside Abure. Consequently, he has also been suspended for an initial six-month period, pending further investigation.

“All members of Abure’s National Working Committee (NWC) are directed to cease acting as representatives of the Labour Party’s NWC.

“The NEC emphasises that failure to adhere to these disciplinary measures will result in more severe consequences.

“The Labour Party remains committed to upholding transparency, accountability, and discipline within its ranks.”

It would be recalled that the Abure-led faction had on Wednesday announced the suspension of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, Senator Ireti Kingibe and four others over alleged anti-party activities.

However, the Usman-led LP-NCC in response said Abure and his sacked executive committee members were in no position to take decisions for the party since the Supreme Court judgement ended Abure’s reign.

On their suspension by Abure, the the lawmakers noted that the party’s former national chairman has appointed himself as a willing undertaker for the destruction of the soul of the Labour Party, stressing that, ironically, he is only supervising the burial plan of his image and integrity as a public servant and political leader.

In a joint statement issued by Hon. Ogene, Hon. Sowunmi, and Hon. Ogah, they expressed dismay and serious reservation that Abure, instead of working to improve the fortunes of the party, seemed focused on orchestrating its disintegration to appease external forces driving his actions.

Abure, factional National Chairman of the LP, had announced the suspension of Hons Ogene, Sowunmi and Ogah, a prominent member of the caucus and also announced the suspension of the only governor elected on the platform of the party, Alex Otti of Abia, Senators Ireti Kingibe and Darlington Nwokocha, Secretary of the National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party.

The LP lawmakers noted that Abure overreached himself and his band of jesters, stressing that it is now evidently clear to everyone who has followed recent events in the LP who is being used to destroyed the party.

According to the lawmakers; “A political party is set up for the specific goal of participating in the democratic process, especially the contestation for power.

“Since the Peter Obi effect of 2023, what has Abure and his gang of undertakers done to enhance the fortunes of the party? In fact, we challenge him and his cohorts to name one single individual of note that they have attracted to the party since 2023.

“From Kogi to Bayelsa, Ondo to Edo, what Abure has done is lead the party to disastrous outcomes.

“The last time around, it was announcing the sack and replacement of Hon. Ogene as caucus leader, but when that didn’t work, he resorted to contriving a fake suspension order.”

On why Labour Party lost the 2023 Presidential election, Arabambi noted that the Obidients used as agents absconded with original results from the polling units they manned, and also failed to show up as witnesses during the election tribunal process, costing the party to also lose at the election tribunal.

Speaking on the crisis within the party, yesterday, in an interview with Arise TV, Arabambi also alleged that the party never spent a kobo from the campaign funds it received, and accused four of its members, including Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Valentine Ozigbo, Oseloka Obaze, and Aisha Yusufu of inability to account for the funds.

According to him, “It’s quite unfortunate that we are having this crisis in the Labour Party now. And before Nigerians, everything I’m going to say here, I think we need to pledge ourselves before Nigerians, what led to this crisis in the Labour Party is more than what Nigerians have seen.

“Nigerians, our crisis emanated from our issue in the 2023 general election. But there is something that we did. I am coming out now, in as much as Nenadi Usman will have the audacity to accuse the chairman of embesslement, I am going to state the fact here, even by Akin Osuntokun, who was on this channel, regarding why we failed in the presidential election.

“On TV, he said, Peter Obi was not in a position to pay all the LP obedient agents during the 2023 election. Peter Obi never had the money to do so, and thus, they had to narrow it down to where they could pay, and drop agents in several thousand polling units where they could not pay. He concluded, we have a situation where many obedient roles as polling unit agents were not remunerated.

“It was just their initiative to do so in most parts of the country, because we couldn’t pay many agents.

“Now, why did he say they were not remunerated? You see, I am going to ask for forgiveness from Nigerians, because we misled Nigerians over why we failed the election. But why we failed is what I have come out here to say.

“In my car, I have the Certificate True Copy (CTC) of all the judgments of the Court of Appeal, which is the Court of assistance regarding our election petition, and also the Supreme Court. I can say that three people were responsible for why we lost the election, and therefore, after this, I will be making an open apology to the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

“The three people muddled something to deceive Nigerians. It was what I wanted to say here that caused that problem the party is currently facing. Now, in the 2023 election, you see, we were unable to field agents in 54,000 polling units out of 189,000 polling units.

“We were unable to field agents. When Peter Obi came, he took over the party machinery and handed it over to Aisha Yusufu and Pastor Ituah Ighodalo and the man that have now absconded, Valentine Ozigbo, and Oseloka Obaze, his SNG. Those were the people who managed the uploads.

“Now, in 189,000 polling units, the Labour Party failed to account for 54,000. That was why he said we were unable to remunerate some agents. What transpired is that we failed woefully in 54,000 polling units. We do not have results.

“They used a lot of the Obedients to be the party agents because they were unable to pay them N10,000 agent fees.

“They absconded with that result. And in line with paragraphs four, five, and six of the first schedule of the Electoral Act, petitions must be filed within 21 days. And your written statement of your witness on oath, your formation, everything you have, you have to attach it to your petition within 21 days.

“The Labour Party failed to do that. What they now did was that there was a meeting, where they were now saying, ‘how do we cover ourselves up?’ We went to the court to lie against the judiciary because we were the ones who failed.

“Like I said, the four people responsible, one resigned four days ago, that was Oseloka, the other one absconded to the APC. While we have Aisha Yusufu and Pastor Ituah Ighodalo. They were the ones who handled all the party finances.

“We will bring the account, the Labour Party did not touch the party campaign fund. It was handled by the two signatories, Pastor Ituah and Aisha Yusufu. Those were the two people. But while they were unable to pay them, it remains their internal problem. But we went to the court, knowing fully well we couldn’t pay agents and had no results.

“You see a lot of Labour Party faithful publishing the names of those judges. You see them accusing the INEC, accusing the APC. Now, if you have 189,000 polling units, you fail to feed agents in 54,000. Which election are we now saying we won? That is where that problem comes from.”

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