The leadership crisis in the Labour Party took another dramatic turn as ousted National Chairman Julius Abure declared that his faction would not hand over the party’s national secretariat in Utako, Abuja, to the Senator Nenadi Usman-led interim leadership, despite her recognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Abure’s position was conveyed by his Deputy National Chairman, Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, February 13, where he also alleged that plans were underway to arrest members of the faction’s National Working Committee.
Olorunfemi challenged the basis for any attempt to take over the secretariat, arguing that the court order directing INEC to recognise Usman did not translate into authority over the party’s physical premises.
“Is the pronouncement of a Federal High Court which says that INEC should recognise Nenadi the same thing as invading and taking over our secretariat? That cannot be,” Olorunfemi said.
“Of course, INEC has played its part by putting her name on its portal and choosing wherever they want to operate from. But there is no address in what INEC put,” he added.
“That secretariat remains our office. They, on the other hand, can decide to go and rent any facility and call it their office. There is nothing wrong with that. But we are not leaving that party then,” he said.
He dismissed accusations that his faction had broken into the premises, insisting that the office and its contents belonged to them.
“How can any reasonable person be talking about breaking in? Do you break into what you already have? The documents in that office are ours not theirs. They are impostors and usurpers,” he said.
Olorunfemi accused the opposing camp of orchestrating a series of forceful entries into the secretariat over the past year.
“On several occasions, they have actually made good their threats by breaking into the Secretariat but were met with stiff resistance.
“However, the latest invasion was carried out at about 1am on Tuesday when some hoodlums scaled into the party compound to pull down the party’s billboards and replace them with those of Nenadi Usman,” he said.
READ ALSO: Labour Party Crisis: Abure Faction ‘Reclaims’ Secretariat Hours After Usman’s Takeover
He also accused the police of taking sides in the dispute, saying officers barricaded the premises but allowed members of the rival faction to enter and put up their banners.
“We had expected that if the office was going to be sealed off temporarily, no group should be allowed access so as not to create the impression of bias on the side of the police,” he said.
The faction said it had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the conduct of FCT Command officers.
“We implore the IGP to use his good office in directing that the police officers maintain neutrality in their current intervention at the Labour Party National Headquarters,” Olorunfemi urged.
He disclosed that the faction had filed an appeal against the court ruling recognising Usman’s leadership and alleged that security agencies were planning to arrest Abure and other national officers.
“We also have it on good authority that there are plans to arrest some of our national officers, including our national chairman for daring to stand up against the impunity of a South East governor,” he said.
“As we await the arrest, we call on all lovers of democracy to stand up and protect this democracy that we all fought for. There is a limit to how long this impunity can last,” he added.
The latest developments came barely 24 hours after Usman and the Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Benson Upah, called on the Department of State Services and other security agencies to arrest Abure over what they described as his agitation to reclaim the secretariat.
Speaking at the secretariat on Wednesday, Usman had accused Abure of unlawfully entering the premises and carting away official party documents.
She described the action as criminal and shameful, insisting that documents belonging to the party must remain in the office to preserve institutional memory and continuity.
Usman’s takeover was announced on Wednesday through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, following a Federal High Court ruling directing INEC to recognise her interim leadership.