The factional leadership of the Labour Party under its Acting chairman, Lamidi Apapa, has invited the candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, among others to its National Executive Council meeting.
The event is scheduled for May 3, 2023, in Bauchi, Northeast Nigeria.
The factional leadership of the party also invited Mr Alex Otti, Abia State Governor-elect; elected LP National Assembly members: Senators & Members of the House of Representatives; elected LP State Assembly members; 2023 LP governorship, National and State Assembly candidates and all National Working Committee and National Executive Committee members of the party.
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.
It reads, “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.”
“Your presence is highly important,” the letter adds.
The letter identified the contact persons as Barr. Akingbade Oyelekan, National Legal Adviser and Comrade Eragbe Anslem, National Youth Leader.
Earlier in April, the party’s leadership crisis came to a head when seven members of the National Working Committee of the party, announced its National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, as the acting chairman of the party, replacing the suspended chairman, Julius Abure.
Apapa defended the action, saying the NWC members acted on the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory High Court which restrained Abure from parading himself as the National Chairman of the party.
Apart from Abure, the court also restrained three other officials of the party over alleged forgery.
Recently, Apapa also suspended five executive members of the party.
The suspended members were punished for attending the National Executive Council meeting convened by the embattled party chairman, Abure in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
This was contained in a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police as a reaction to his purported suspension by the NEC.
The letter dated April 18, 2023, was signed by the factional National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi and copied to the “DG- Department of State Security Service; Acting National Chairman of Labour Party; LP-NWC, NEC; Press: Electronic, Print, Social Media; Mr Peter Obi, 2023 Presidential Candidate of Labour Party and Fellow Nigerians”.
It listed Ladi Iliya Deputy National Chairman, NLC; Ayo Olorunfemi, Deputy National Chairman, TUC; Kennedy Chigozie Ahanotu, Deputy National Secretary; Dudu Manuga, National Women Leader and Innocent Okeke, National Vice Chairman South East as the affected members.
In the letter, Apapa urged Peter Obi to stop hobnobbing with Abure with “baggage of forgery, perjury and financial malfeasance."