Labour Party Expels Abayomi, Ratifies Suspension Of Apapa, Akali, Five Others

 

            Abayomi Arabambi

( https://muckrack.com/kingsley-benneth/articles )

The Labour Party’s (LP) National Executive Council (NEC) on Tuesday sacked its former National Publicity Secretary, Arabambi Abayomi, and upheld the suspension of six other National Working Committee (NWC) members for anti-party activities in what political analysts see as house cleansing.

At the meeting, which was attend­ed by the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, and representa­tives from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), LP state chairmen, federal legislators-elect and INEC, those suspended include Lamidi Apapa, Salem Lawal, Favour Reuben, Gbenga Daramola, Samuel Akingbade and Mohammed Akali. ­

It also considered the report of a disciplinary committee which recommended the sus­pension of the former National Youth Leader, Anslem Eragbe.

Following this, it suspended him indefinitely and recom­mended Eragbe to the next convention for expulsion.

This is as the party’s NEC ratified the appointment of Kennedy Ahanotu as the new National Youth Leader, and Obiora Ifoh as acting National Publicity Secretary.

Other appointments made included Barr. Edun Kehinde as acting National Legal Advis­er; Rotimi Kehinde as acting Deputy National Secretary, and Anthony Ezeagwu as acting Na­tional Chairman, South-South.

However, the embattled national chairman of the LP, Julius Abure, was on Tuesday absent from the party’s NEC meeting which was held in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

On the conduct of the 2023 elections, the Labour Par­ty noted INEC’s inability to transmit election results in re­al-time from the polling units, maintaining that it gave room for “massive manipulation of results”.

It equally condemned the use of security agencies by politi­cians to harass, intimidate, and buy votes, which largely comprised the outcome of the election.

The high-powered meeting in making the Asaba declara­tion frowned at the use of thugs and the reintroduction of ballot snatching and writing of results in collation centres, describing it “as a dangerous trend in our democratic process”.

“The Labour Party notes that this trend in our democra­cy may slide the country into a civilian dictatorship. NEC in session noted that civilian dicta­torship is worse than a military dictatorship.

“NEC in session noted the re­silience, and doggedness of our presidential candidate and its resolve to legitimately reclaim its mandate in court. NEC, therefore, called on the judiciary to do the right thing irrespective of whose ox is gored.

“NEC in session, therefore, appeals to the judiciary to at all times be on the part of the people by promoting acts that enhance democracy, funda­mental freedom, rule of law, and the doctrine of separation of powers.

“NEC in session sympathiz­es with Nigerians who have continued to wallow in leader­ship-inflicted poverty, hunger, unemployment, insecurity, poor infrastructure and underdevel­opment.

“NEC, therefore, reassures Nigerians that the Labour Party government, when in place, will change these narratives”.

The statement further added that “NEC in session considered the expiration of the current National Working Committee that will lapse in June and stat­ed inter alia, it is the considered opinion of NEC and in view of recent events in our party, con­sidering the controversies and bad blood generated by elective convention, conscious of the numerous court cases; Presi­dential, Governorship, Senato­rial, and House of Assemblies, the need to remain focused and reorganize the party, it is most malapropos to convene a nation­al convention.

“Consequently, NEC extend­ed the tenure of the current NWC for 12 months which is in line with our party’s consti­tution in article 13 (2) (B) IX. It states as follows:

“To take decisions on when to hold a regular national con­vention of the party in the event that the national convention could not hold for any reason whatsoever when it fell due.

“NEC noted that this is in line with the best practices of the party. In 2012, when the con­vention fell due and could not hold as scheduled, National Executive Council (NEC) in ses­sion extended the tenure of the NWC and the convention was held in 2014 in session extended the tenure of the NWC and the convention was held in 2014. In 2018, when the convention be­came due and convention could not be held, the NEC in session which was held in Minna, Niger State extended the tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) before the convention was held in 2019.

“Finally, the NEC in session reposes implicit confidence in Abure’s led National Working Committee (NWC)”.