The crisis within the Labour Party deepened on Sunday, July 13, as the faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman openly criticised the party’s suspended National Chairman, Julius Abure, for appearing in a photograph with Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
In a strongly worded statement signed by Ken Asogwa, the Senior Special Adviser (Media) to the acting national chairman, the faction accused Abure of aligning with political forces opposed to the Labour Party’s core values and survival.
“While Mr. Peter Obi is diligently focused on addressing critical national issues, and Senator Nenadi Usman is attending high-level meetings abroad with his full consent—both working in the supreme interest of the Labour Party and the Nigerian people—Barr. Julius Abure, the suspended former national chairman, is busy hobnobbing with the very forces that are hell-bent on annihilating the party,” the statement read.
The group said the viral image of Abure with Wike only confirms suspicions long held within the party about where his real political loyalties lie.
“Instead of standing with the people, Abure is seen wining and dining with the sponsors of oppression, tyranny, and electoral malpractice,” the statement continued.
“His actions lend further credence to our long-held position: that Julius Abure is not just unfit for leadership, but a willing tool in the hands of external forces bent on destabilising the Labour Party from within.”
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The faction also accused Abure of abandoning his leadership responsibilities during key moments in the party’s development, claiming that his absence contributed to internal disarray.
“He went completely missing at critical times when the party required leadership, unity, vision, and strategic grassroots mobilisation,” it stated.
“His dereliction of duty, compounded by his ongoing fraternisation with political adversaries of the New Nigeria vision, earned him suspension from the party.
“His constant romance with these outside forces raises a fundamental question: Whose agenda is Julius Abure truly serving?”
The group warned that the Labour Party’s future could be compromised if entrusted to individuals pursuing selfish interests.
“It must not, and will not, be left in the hands of crooked individuals who trade its soul for personal gain, while others continue to make sacrifices for a better, fairer, and more just Nigeria,” the statement concluded.