…Union accuses Abure of reckless contempt
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared a state of emergency over the leadership of the Labour Party, calling on workers and democracy advocates nationwide to prepare for mass action following last week’s Supreme Court judgment.
In a statement signed by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the workers’ union accused ousted National Chairman, Julius Abure, of “utter impunity” and “crass disdain for decency” for refusing to vacate office after the apex court ruled his tenure had constitutionally elapsed.
“The current affront by Mr Abure and his co-travellers against the law, especially his resistance to the pronouncement of the highest court, has convinced even sceptics that these elements have sworn themselves to lawlessness,” the NLC declared in the April 8 press release seen by our correspondent.
The development follows Friday’s Supreme Court verdict which affirmed that Abure’s National Working Committee (NWC) had exceeded its constitutional mandate. Rather than comply, the embattled chairman has allegedly “doubled down on illegality” by continuing to issue directives as party leader.
The NLC statement contained scathing language, describing Abure’s faction as “inconsequential characters whose only relevance is their availability for mischief” and warning they were on a “path of complete self-destruction.”
Of particular concern to labour leaders are reports that the defiant faction has been spreading “false alarms” about planned NLC attacks on party offices. The union dismissed these claims as desperate fabrications meant to “manufacture crisis where none exists.”
In an unprecedented move, the NLC has now put all Nigerian workers and “genuine” Labour Party members on standby for what it terms a “peaceful repossession” of party offices nationwide. The statement emphasised this would be a constitutional rather than confrontational process, with the NLC Political Commission expected to coordinate operations.
Security agencies have been put on notice, with the NLC reminding the Nigeria Police Force and State Security Service of their “constitutional duty to enable and enforce Supreme Court judgments.” The union cautioned that failure to uphold the rule of law would reduce Nigeria to “a banana republic.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) faces mounting pressure to immediately purge all traces of Abure’s leadership from its records. “INEC which had always pleaded alignment with court pronouncements must now give full effect to this conclusive judgment,” the NLC demanded.
To resolve the leadership vacuum, surviving members of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) are expected to appoint an interim leadership that will organise a Special National Convention in line with the party’s constitution.
The NLC warned that any attempt to circumvent these constitutional processes would be met with “stout resistance” from Nigerian workers, whom Ajaero described as the true owners of the party.
“As we warned a year ago, Nigerian workers will always collect what belongs to them – no matter how long mischief lasts,” the statement concluded, ending with the ominous proverb: “A word is enough for the wise.”
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