Stakeholders of the Nigeria Labour Congress will today meet to take a decision on the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party and the return of Julius Abure as the party’s National Chairman.
Among other things, The PUNCH gathered that a caretaker committee is being proposed by the unionists to take over the control of the opposition party.
“Invitations have been sent out to all relevant stakeholders and members of the NLC Political Commission. The meeting will take place tomorrow (Monday) in Abuja.
“That meeting may seal the fate of Abure as arrangements have been concluded to set up a caretaker committee to take over the leadership of the party,” a source told our correspondent.
The development comes in the wake of a failed attempt by the party’s Board of Trustees to wrest power from Abure and take over LP leadership.
A few days ago, a group of retired workers, under the aegis of the Lagos Assembly of Labour Veterans and Trade Unionists, protested and demanded an immediate resignation of the party chairman.
Similarly, the retirees called on the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, to bow out of office for failing to protect their interest and the manner he went about the leadership struggle of the party.
Efforts to get the reaction of the NLC spokesman, Benson Upah, were unsuccessful.
As of the time of filing this story, Upah neither picked up calls nor reply both the SMS and Whatsapp messages sent for clarification.
A few hours after the NLC invitation went viral, the leadership of the Labour Party kicked against the planned meeting, which it described as an illegal jamboree of some ‘drama boys.’
The opposition party frowned on the proposed gathering as stated in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, titled ‘Proposed NLC Stakeholders meeting a jamboree by drama boys, illegal and outcome a nullity.’
Ifoh also called on law enforcement agencies to abort the gathering and go after the unionists before their planned action ‘degenerates into a public nuisance.’
He said, “It has come to the knowledge of the leadership of the Labour Party of a letter of invitation trending in some sections of the media, purportedly written by some desperate characters in the Nigeria Labour Congress, inviting some Nigerians to an illegal stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold on Monday in Abuja, wherein they propose to appoint a caretaker committee for the Labour Party.
“This meeting being organised by some drama boys and attention-seeking personalities in the NLC is illegal as we have not authorised it and it is not supported by any law in the land and, therefore, its outcome, a nullity. We are, therefore, calling on all genuine members of the party to disregard and shun the meeting.
“A few days ago, the Federal Government raised the electricity tariff to about 300 per cent and the NLC has neither responded to it nor called out its members to protest the increment. But it is quick to convene an unlawful meeting of disgruntled members who are not even party members.
“We are calling on the law enforcement agencies to rise to the occasion and abort this gathering which may likely degenerate into a public nuisance. NLC does not have any proprietary right over the Labour Party and, therefore, cannot continue to lay claim to its ownership.”
