Labour Party Crisis: Abure, NWC Members Snub Otti’s Stakeholders’ Meeting
Tensions within the Labour Party have reached a boiling point, with National Chairman Julius Abure and members of his National Working Committee announcing they will boycott a stakeholders’ meeting summoned by Abia State Governor Alex Otti. The meeting, initially scheduled as a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, is now being held as a stakeholders’ meeting on September 4 at the Government House in Umuahia, Abia State.
Abure’s decision to snub the meeting comes days after the party’s presidential flag bearer, Peter Obi, threw his weight behind Otti to convene the meeting. However, Abure had earlier warned Otti against attempting to pilot the party’s affairs, stating that he was not authorized to make decisions on behalf of the party.
A source close to Abure’s camp, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that none of the NWC members would be attending the meeting. "We won’t attend it. Were you not at last week’s briefing, where the national chairman subtly warned the governor and other party members to desist from meddling in the party administration? He meant every word he said that day," the source said.
The source added, "Now, we have been told not to entertain any question or speak on the issue again. It is wrong of Otti to summon a meeting of party chieftains or stakeholders without the approval of Abure. Have you seen anything like that happening in other parties like APC, PDP or even NNPP?"
Despite efforts to verify the report, the LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, and members of the NWC could not be reached for reactions. However, another member of the NWC confirmed via a terse text message that they would not be attending the meeting.
The crisis within the Labour Party stems from Otti’s initial call for a meeting of the NEC to dissolve the executives at the ward, local government, state, and national levels, citing the purported expiration of their tenures. Abure had threatened to take action against the governor if he went ahead with the meeting, but Otti ignored the threat and rechristened the meeting as a stakeholders’ gathering.
The meeting is expected to have Obi, his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, and other party chieftains in attendance.
