The former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has condemned what he described as the forceful takeover of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, accusing the Abia State Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, and the Senator Nenadi Usman-led faction of orchestrating the action.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the factional National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, Abure described the incident as a violent and unlawful invasion of the party’s Utako headquarters.
According to the statement, the takeover occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, with unidentified individuals storming the secretariat around 1 a.m., removing Labour Party billboards bearing the images of Abure and his executives, and replacing them with those of Senator Usman.
Ifoh alleged that the action was carried out with a heavy police presence. “The invasion, aided by eight truckloads of policemen, denied officers and staff of the party access, ensuring that only members of the Nenadi interim leadership were allowed into the secretariat,” the statement said.
The Abure-led faction acknowledged the existence of a Federal High Court judgment recognising Usman as interim chairman but noted that the decision is under appeal and subject to a stay of execution.
“It is therefore inappropriate and unnecessary for any group to resort to self-help by forcefully breaking into the national secretariat,” the statement said.
The faction also called on security agencies, including the police, the Department of State Services, and the Office of the National Security Adviser, to intervene, warning that failure to act could undermine democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, the Nenadi Usman-led faction confirmed taking over the secretariat, with a heavy security presence reportedly stationed around the premises.
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Armed policemen were observed within and outside the secretariat, while banners and billboards bearing Abure’s images were removed and replaced with those of Usman. Access to the premises was strictly screened for party members, supporters, and journalists.
Usman, through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, said the takeover was long overdue. Last month, a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had elapsed and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise a caretaker committee led by Usman pending the conduct of a national convention.
While the Otti-backed faction welcomed the judgment and called for reconciliation, Abure rejected the ruling, vowed to appeal, and warned INEC against recognising the faction. INEC subsequently recognised Usman as acting national chairman, updating its records to reflect the change.