Obi, Otti supporters jubilating for nothing, CTC vindicates Abure – LP spokesman

The Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party on Wednesday dismissed the claim of legitimacy by the Nenadi Usman Caretaker Committee, saying their supporters were ‘jubilating for nothing.’

The National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, disclosed this in a phone chat with PUNCH Online.

Ifoh was reacting to the jubilation that greeted the presentation of the Certified True Copy of last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment on the Labour Party’s leadership crisis at the parallel National Executive Committee held by LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti in Abuja.

When contacted, the LP spokesman mocked the gathering, saying there was nowhere in the CTC that the court mentioned that Abure must step aside.

“They are just jubilating for nothing. The Supreme Court judgment is clear about the position of the party leadership,” he said.

In a follow-up statement made available to journalists in Abuja, Ifoh warned Usman and her hordes of supporters to take a back seat and study the document properly.

He said, “As promised earlier, we warned that Senator Nenadi Usman and her cohorts have been on the voyage of misleading Nigerians with the wrong interpretation of the judgment of the apex court. (Attached is a copy of the CTC). There is nowhere it stated that the leadership of the Abure-led executive has elapsed or that Nenadi Usman and her National Caretaker Committee have been directed to take over the party leadership.

“The Supreme Court emphatically stated that issues within the political party are internal affairs of the party and that party supremacy must be observed. It is pertinent for us to state clearly that there is no vacuum in the leadership of the Labour Party. The highest organ of the party, the national convention, has in March 2024 elected its leaders in line with the constitution of the party and the electoral act, and their tenure is subsisting.

“Consequent upon that, any meeting convened in disregard of the constitution of the party is illegal and the outcome null and void. We are therefore warning all those involved in the illegal meeting held in Abuja to refrain from further factionalising the party and respect the constitution of the party, as we will not fail to activate the provision of the party on disciplinary actions.