‘He was elected, not appointed’ — LP reps reject Afam Ogene’s removal as caucus leader by Abure faction

The Labour Party (LP) caucus in the house of representatives has rejected the removal of Afam Ogene as its leader by the Julius Abure-led faction.

BACKGROUND

The LP is embroiled in a leadership crisis that has polarised the party into factions.

On Friday, the supreme court nullified an appeal court verdict that recognised Abure as the LP national chairman.

Subsequently, Nenadi Usman, chairman of the LP caretaker committee, backed by Peter Obi, the party’s standard-bearer in the 2023 election, and Alex Otti, governor of Abia, commended the judgment.

The LP house of representatives caucus also hailed the judgment, describing it as a “tonic and elixir” for the party’s “stability and reinvention”.

Afterwards, the Abure faction convened a national executive committee (NEC) meeting and suspended Ogene over alleged “dereliction of duty”, appointing Ben Etanabene as his replacement.

‘CAUCUS LEADER IS ELECTED NOT APPOINTED’

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ogene said the Abure-led faction lacks the power to remove him, noting that the caucus leader is elected, not appointed.

He described his removal as “laughable, naive, and misleading”.

“The Labour Party Reps have emphasized that the position of a caucus leader is not an office based on appointment; rather, the leader is chosen/elected by peers based on their own conviction of his/her leadership qualities and capacity to speak on their behalf in the overall interest of the party and the people they represent,” the statement reads.

Ogene said he was elected on May 6, 2023, by 21 caucus members out of the 31 persons who voted in the poll.

“Although 34 Members-Elect of the Party were present at the voting session, only 31 of them took part in the exercise, with the trio of Honourables Okey-Joe Onuakalusi, Obi Aguocha, and Professor Lilian Oby Orogbu abstaining, being persons who conducted the exercise,” he said.

Ogene said only the members of the caucus who “overwhelmingly elected” him can remove him as leader.

The caucus leader added that the LP is a “credible organisation and not a ponzi scheme”.