Labour Party Crisis: Police take over Party Secretariat

…. Abure faulty move, accuses A-P-C, Police

The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday took over the national secretariat of the Labour Party in Abuja.

The crisis rocking the party deepened on Thursday, after seven members of the National Working Committee, NWC, installed the National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, as the acting chairman of the party.

Speaking after an emergency meeting, Apapa said the NWC members acted on the judgement of an Abuja High Court, which barred Julius Abure from parading himself as LP’s National Chairman.

Apart from Abure, the court also restrained the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu.

Apapa told journalists that the NWC also reviewed the suspension of party members and exco that had earlier been suspended by the party leadership.

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But in a swift reaction, Julius Abure faulted the move and accused the police of collaborating with the masterminds to gain entrance into the party’s secretariat in Abuja where Lamidi took the decision.

“A court of competent jurisdiction only yesterday ordered that I, Julius Abure remain the National Chairman, and should not be restrained from performing my duties, it, therefore, baffles me why the Nigerian Police should allow itself to be used to perpetrate illegalities,” he said in Thursday statement.

“We advise the Police, APC, and their sponsors to play by the rules. We will no longer tolerate the often intimidation and deployment of brute forces against the party and its personnel,” the statement added.

“We demand they put a stop to the abuse of power and respect the rights and privileges of other political parties, particularly, the Labour Party to contest for power.