Abure’s loyalists reject factional LP secretariat in Gombe

Loyalists of the embattled National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, have rejected the opening of a factional LP secretariat in Gombe State, declaring it as illegal.

In a statement on Sunday, the Gombe LP Chairman, Benjamin Abner, and Secretary, Abubakar Usman, denounced the group behind the factional LP office, insisting that Abure remained the leader of the party.

The crisis rocking the LP recently deepened following the setting up 29-man caretaker panel at a meeting convened by the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, and attended by the LP 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, his running mate, Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, among others.

The caretaker panel, led by ex-minister Nenadi Usman, is to take over the control  of the party from Abure, a development that the embattled LP leader rejected.

On Sunday, Abure’s loyalists in Gombe described as mischievious an attempt to open an LP secretariat without their knowledge.

 “To the best of our knowledge, we are the legally recognised excos, whose appointment was notified to the police, INEC and the DSS. The present state exco is headed by Hon Benjamin Abner.

“We would not have bothered to take issues with these fake people but for the imperative of setting the records straight and not allowing our teeming members and the general public to be misled.

“We therefore call on the security  agencies and the public to take note of this fact.”

The group insisted that Abure remained the LP national leader.

“A national convention was duly and legally held on 27th March, 2024 at Nnewi Anambra State; and the National Working Committee was elected for a tenure of four years, under the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure. The Federal High Court has pronounced judgment and affirmed that the Nnewi Convention followed known rules and regulations in every aspect, and so far, there has been no contrary judgment given by a higher court. Thus the outcome of that convention has been validated.

“There’s no vacuum in the leadership of the Labour Party from the national to the ward level. Congresses are being planned in different states. We must note here that the party’s leadership at the states came on board at different times, so congresses are not simultaneous. Gombe will be having its congress soon and details will be communicated to our members,” the group said.