The leadership crisis within the Labour Party (LP) deepened on Wednesday as Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, issued a fresh directive for union members to prepare to take over the party’s national and state secretariats across the country.
Ajaero made this declaration during an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Labour Party in Abuja.
Among those present were the LP National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman; Chief Peter Ameh, a representative of the 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi; former NLC President Abdulawaheed Omar; unionist Lawson Osagie; and the Acting President of the NLC Political Commission, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku.
This latest move comes nearly a month after Ajaero circulated an internal memo directing workers to be on standby, following a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a previous lower court decision.
Speaking to reporters, Ajaero criticised the LP leadership under Julius Abure, accusing them of arrogance and disregarding the rule of law.
“We are not quarrelling with anybody, and we should not allow it to be hijacked. You (The PUNCH) earlier asked if I still put the Nigerian workers on standby to take over LP offices. My answer is Yes. In fact, this is the time to move,” he said.
“I sent a letter after the Supreme Court judgment that every worker, every state council, should be on standby. In the next few days, everybody will move into action,” Ajaero added.
He also accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of seeking to destabilise the Labour Party.
“Nothing has changed. Whether military or civilian government, they are afraid of the word ‘Labour’ and they will fight tooth and nail to destabilise us, whether as the Labour Party or the Labour Congress,” Ajaero asserted.
“There is no worker or Labour leader who is not conscious of this. It is the potential we have that is attracting all these attacks,” he said.
Questioning the role of the judiciary, Ajaero continued: “Where on earth does a court rule when there is a consent judgment? It only happens in a banana republic.”
“It is not applicable anywhere. It is not the Supreme Court that registered the Party, and they are not the people who will organise it for us.”
“Tell them to remove their hands from the organisation of the Workers’ Party. It is a sin for you to destabilise it. It should be made clear that no amount of blackmail can stop us,” he warned.
Ajaero also claimed the NLC retains legal ownership of the Labour Party.
“The NLC is still in possession of the Labour Party certificate till tomorrow. This is the only party where the son of nobody can become somebody.”
“If you check the last 2023 election, you see that Okada riders won the election to go to the National Assembly. It has never happened before. You and I cannot buy a form of N10m or N100m.”
“Those of us in the movement cannot sit down here and allow people with greed to ask you to pay N20m to pick a nomination form. If we do that, we have lost our focus on having a workers’ party,” Ajaero said.
Reacting to the NLC leader’s comments, LP National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh dismissed the takeover threat and the NEC meeting itself, calling it illegal.
“The threat is nothing new. We are used to their rascality. Ajaero is sounding like a broken record over his resolve to invade unannounced the national and state secretariats of the Labour Party, with his armies, to take over the party forcefully,” Ifoh said.
“Again, we must state clearly and categorically that if there is any person or organisation that has destabilised the Labour Party or who is working to destabilise the party, it is no other person than Joe Ajaero and the NLC,” he continued.
“Nigerians all over have asked Ajaero to concentrate on his primary assignment to fight for the welfare of workers.”
“We are calling on all genuine members of the Labour Party to distance themselves from the illegal activities of the Nenadi Usman group and ploy to manipulate members into parting with their hard-earned money through an illegal Congress they are planning,” Ifoh concluded.
