Labour Party Crisis: 28 LP State Chairmen Take Back Abuja Secretariat

Twenty-eight state chairmen of Labour Party yesterday took back the national secretariat of the party in Utako, Abuja, declaring that Julius Abure remains their national chairman.

A faction of the party led by Bashir Apapa had taken over the party secretariat last Thursday before a detachment of police took over the secretariat.

However, the 28 state chairmen of the party led by their spokesperson, Kehinde Rotimi, stormed the secretariat and forcefully reclaimed it.

Addressing newsmen at the secretariat, Rotimi said: “We were amazed at the report that hoodlums and thugs invaded our party secretariat at Utako; that is why we came.

“They destroyed properties, carted away our documents, committed all sorts of atrocities that are not in tandem with the rule of law.

“We were told that they went to court and took a particular order but they did not wait for the court to determine whatever motion of notice; they took laws into their hands to come and destroy our Secretariat.

“That is why we as very important organ of NEC, the council of chairmen in the party, which constitute NEC along with the members of our party, have decided to come here to do an on the sport assessment and on getting here we discovered that these sets of hoodlums, some of them have been suspended and are no more members of our party.

“Some of them sold our party to other political parties. The party is still investigating to see that they have violated our rights as a political party and they have gone all around to intimidate us with security agencies.

“We are saying it that we cannot be intimidated; we cannot be cowed. Labour Party has come to stay in Nigeria. We want to advice all political parties to allow us, leave us alone.”