NLC Pickets Labour Party HQ, Demands Abure’s Removal

The conflict between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Labour Party (LP) has taken another turn as members of the NLC, on Wednesday, picketed the headquarters of the party in the Utako area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The union members led by the acting Chairman of the Political Commission of the Congress, Theophilus Ndubuaku, demanded the immediate resignation of Julius Abure as the national chairman of the party on the ground that he was not properly elected as the national chairman of the Labour Party.

The NLC political commission chairman also claimed that the planned convention of the party under the leadership of Abure is an illegal one.

The planned convention which is said to be scheduled to hold at Umuahia, the Abia State capital on March 27, was alleged by the NLC to be aimed at re-electing Abure as the sole administrator of the Labour Party, with concerns of secrecy surrounding the event.

The NLC are demanding the formation of a caretaker transition committee to organise a legitimate and all-inclusive national convention for the party.

Although no official of the party is at the headquarters, the labour leaders have occupied the premises of the party as officers and men of the Nigeria police force keep an eye on the secretariat to avoid vandalization.

The union members who have remained at the Labour Party headquarters, are chanting songs against Abure, accusing party chairman of embezzling funds.

The Labour Party leadership, has however, in an earlier statement strongly opposed the directive, alleging that it was driven by Ajaero’s supposed desire to become the next national chairman of the party.

It also denied any financial impropriety, insisting that the party is open to forensic audit of its accounts.

“We are even calling on the NLC to send its own external auditors to check our financial books. We are also calling on Peter Obi to expedite action on the auditing of our accounts.

“And for the NLC to be using this as a cheap blackmail is to show their high level of desperation and mischief,” LP said.

The Labour Party advised the NLC and its commission to focus only on its statutory responsibilities of defending the workers and the workers’ right.

“Today minimum wage is N30.000 while a bag of rice is N80.000. We hear about NLC talk about ethos and ethics of the Labour movement and the Labour Party, this is also an NLC that cannot call or sustain a strike for one or two days without calling it off.

“This is an NLC which cannot think of calling a protest and sustaining it in order to get the attention of the government for the interest of the workers.”