Others who were pardoned and forgiven by the Lamidi Apapa-led National Executive Council of the Labour Party are the party’s “vice-presidential candidate, Senator Yusuf Datti; Mr Alex Otti, Governor-elect of Abia State, all the senators, members of the House of Representatives and State Assembly members elected on the Labour Party’s platform”.
The Labour Party National Executive Council at its meeting on Wednesday resolved to pardon and forgive the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi for attending “an illegal NEC meeting” held in Asaba in Delta State.
Others who were pardoned and forgiven by the Lamidi Apapa-led National Executive Council of the Labour Party are the party’s “vice-presidential candidate, Senator Yusuf Datti; Mr Alex Otti, Governor-elect of Abia State, all the senators, members of the House of Representatives and State Assembly members elected on the Labour Party’s platform”.
They were all accused of attending the “illegal NEC meeting of 18th April 2023 in Asaba, Delta state organized by Barr Julius Abure in contempt of the FCT High Court Restraining Order of 5th April, 2023 that restrained Barr Julius Abure and others from parading themselves as
national officers of the Labour Party (LP)”.
Wednesday’s NEC meeting of the party was held in Bauchi State.
A Federal Capital Territory High Court in April issued an order barring the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure and the National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim from parading themselves as national leaders of the party.
Also restrained by the court from parading themselves as the national officers of the party are the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu and the Treasurer, Oluchi Opara.
Apapa subsequently assumed the role of Acting National Chairman of the party but this has been challenged by those loyal to Abure, creating two factions of the party.
At the NEC meeting, the party also constituted a disciplinary committee with members as follows: Prince Favour Reuben: Chairman; Hussaine Saraki: Secretary; Comrade Eze Oko Splendor: Member; Mr Gbenga Daramola: Member; and Alh. Lawan Saleh: Member.
The party also resolved to pursue the “ongoing matter in court along with our presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, to see to the successful reclaiming of our stolen mandate at the presidential election petition tribunal”.
It, however, noted that it would not be a “Party to any unlawful act to cause a change of democratic administration violently as anticipated by Barr Julius Abure and his cohorts through their public incitement of anarchy”.
It said there were reasons to believe that there was considerable improvement in the “states elections over the irregularities and network glitches noticed during the presidential and national elections”
But it frowned on and rejected the “attempted conversion of the Labour Party to a one-man-show or regional political party by Barr Julius Abure”.
It also condemned all noticeable forms of “ethnic and religious bigotry with inclinations that were clandestinely promoted by some of the former national working committee members identified as Abure, Farouk, Ojukwu Clement and Mrs Oluchi Okpara.