NLC transition committee demands Abure’s resignation as LP national chairman

Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) transition committee staged a protest on Tuesday to demand the resignation of Julius Abure, national chairman of the Labour Party (LP). 

The committee, tasked with revitalising the party towards a national convention, is chaired by Abdulwaheed Umar, a former president of the NLC, while Sam Amadi and Abiodun Olamosun are co-chairmen.

According to Channels Television, Omar and some other members of the labour union marched to the LP’s headquarters in Abuja, chanted solidarity songs, and called for the resignation of Abure.

The protesters, who argued that Abure’s tenure as LP chairman had expired, were denied entry into the premises.

Police officers fired teargas to disperse the protesters, who were shouting “open the gate”.

The LP has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since Lamidi Apapa, the deputy national chairman of the party (south), declared himself the acting national chairman last year.

The crisis deepened when a national convention of the party held in Anambra saw Julius Abure re-elected as chairman of the LP despite opposition by a faction.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it did not monitor the party’s national convention.

The board of trustees (BoT) of the party described the convention that re-elected Abure as a charade and added that Abure’s tenure was over as national chairman of the party.

In May, the party inaugurated a transition committee to reposition LP as a party to reckon with in the Nigerian political space and conduct a new national convention.