The Lamidi Apapa faction of Labour Party on Wednesday faulted the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee for accusing the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero and the NLC Political Commission of being sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress to cause disaffection in the party.
The Apapa camp also described the attempt by the NWC to accuse their faction of a similar anti-party activity as irresponsible and insensitive.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the spokesman for the Apapa faction, Abayomi Arabambi.
Arabambi’s protest was a reaction to the rejoinder issued barely 24 hours ago by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, claiming that the NLC and its political commission lack the power to sack Abure’s NWC.
Ifoh added that the congress has been mandated by Ajaero to ensure that the crisis in the Labour Party festers ahead of 2027 by presenting itself as a rallying ground for dissident former members of their party, who recently lost the leadership battle in the courts.
According to him, the party is not unmindful of the alleged political pact the leadership of the NLC has gone into with the current APC-led government to destabilize the opposition.
Reacting on Wednesday, Arabambi noted that he found it disturbing how Ifoh would attempt to distort and rewrite the history of their party by alleging that the NLC Political Commission was ‘mandated by Ajaero to ensure crisis festers in Labour Party ahead of the 2027 election.’
While stressing that he suspected the statement was made ‘out of ignorance, political rascality and gross indiscipline,’ the Apapa faction spokesman said they neither had a pact with the NLC nor the said APC government as alleged.
“We wouldn’t have bothered to dignify this reckless statement from him and his co-travellers bjt because they continue to pretend and mislead members of the public with their intellectual sophistry, which was a false narrative. LP will not hold any brief or engage in any response for both the NLC president and its affiliate over the spurious insinuation by Obiora Ifoh that we are now working for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led APC administration.
“Assuredly, we vehemently refute these allegations and shall put the mischief maker to the strictest proof at the appropriate time. We are also reminding him that those calling for the resignation or otherwise removal of Julius Abure now as National Chairman were on the side of their faction fighting us all through the pendency of the FCT high court restraining order
“It is therefore incongruous and antithetical for you and anyone from your faction of the Labour party to insinuate we are now jointly working for APC administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alongside Joe Ajaero who once referred to Alh Bashiru Lamidi Apapa led NWC as rodents, except you are suffering from acute dementia or chronic bipolar disorder. We are also not in crisis with the NLC Political Commission towards any of their actions against the LP faction led by Barr. Julius Abure and his cohorts.
“However, the NLC president and the NLC Political Commission will be on firm ground if they choose to work with the Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa and Alhaji Saleh Lawan as Acting National Chairman and Acting National Secretary-led NWC of the Labour Party,” he stated.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Abure’s camp were unsuccessful.
As of the time of filing this story, the lines of Abure and Ifoh were unreachable.
