The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shunned the embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Barrister Julius Abure until the leadership crisis in the party is resolved.

While INEC officials were not disposed to comment on the matter, it was noticed that Abure and any representative of the LP was conspicuously absent at INEC held an emergency meeting with the national chairmen and national secretaries of the nation’s registered political parties.

The emergency meeting called by INEC with the national chairmen and national secretaries of all the nation’s registered political parties, was part of measures to ensure the success of the forthcoming off-cycle elections in Edo and Ondo states slated for September 21 and November 11 respectively.

It was learnt that Abure was not invited to the meeting and that he was asked to stay away pending the resolution of the leadership crisis in the party.

The scenario was not different from what happened penultimate Wednesday on August 14 during the third regular quarterly consultative meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), where Abure was not permitted to attend the meeting.

The development was coming on the heels of the sole governor of the party and Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti; alongside the party’s presidential candidate in last year’s elections, Mr Peter Obi who have scheduled a special meeting next Wednesday in Umuahia, as part of measures to resolve the protracted crisis in the party.

Daily Trust reports that INEC had distanced itself from the LP Convention held on 27th March 2024 in Nnewi, Anambra State, where Abure was reelected as the National Chairman of the party.

INEC in a letter signed by the then Ag Secretary to the commission, Haliru Aminu, dated July 18, in response to a letter of application for the certified copy of the document of the LP convention said it did not monitor the LP convention of 27th March 2024 and cannot therefore report on the convention.

“Regrettably the Commission did not monitor the Labour Party Convention of 27th March 2024 and cannot therefore report on the convention,” the INEC letter reads in parts.

…LP suspends reps member over ‘gross insubordination’ in Lagos

Meanwhile, the LP, Ojo Local Government Chapter in Lagos State has suspended Hon. Seyi Sowunmi, the House of Representatives Member representing Ojo Federal Constituency.

This was contained in a letter signed by the party’s local government Chairman, Oluwanifemi Elegbede; and Secretary, Blessing Okafor, addressed to Sowunmi on August 27.

The letter titled “Suspension of Hon Seyi Sowunmi from Ojo Labour Party”, said Sowunmi and others were suspended for refusing to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee within 24hrs of being summoned on August 26.

Elegbede said that following the findings and documents made available to the disciplinary committee, the party concluded that Sowunmi’s “refusal to appear before the disciplinary committee as requested in the summon, shows gross insubordination to the party (Article 20(B3)”

The party also noted that Sowunmi refused “to work with the existing party leadership at all levels and attempt to remove constituted party leadership at all levels without going through the lay down procedure as provided in the party constitution (Article 20(B7).”

Elegbede added that Sowunmi’s suspension followed “taking the party to court without exhausting all constitutionally provided internal dispute resolution mechanism.”

The suspended rep member had said the Dayo Ekong-led Lagos State executive is an ‘impostor’, insisting that the executive having been reappointed on October 27, 2023, for a period of 3 months, their tenure had expired on January 26, thus the Ekong-led State Executive Committee is no longer the authentic executive of the party in Lagos. (Daily Trust)

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