….Says only House Caucus can remove Ogene
The Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives Caucus has dismissed as laughable, naive, and misleading the attempt by the party’s embattled former National Chairman, Julius Abure, to appoint another lawmaker as Caucus Leader.
This comes after the caucus issued a statement welcoming last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment and expressing readiness to work with the party’s National Caretaker Committee (NCC), led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, to foster internal peace and progress. In response, Abure had announced the “removal” of Hon. Afam Ogene as Caucus Leader.
However, in a sharp rebuttal on Tuesday, the LP Reps clarified that the position of Caucus Leader is not an appointive office but rather one chosen by peers based on leadership competence and the ability to represent their collective interest.
“On May 6, 2023, a 35-member Labour Party caucus in the 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives elected Hon. Afam Victor Ogene as its Leader. Ogene, a ranking member from the 7th Assembly, emerged as the Labour Party leader with 21 votes, after a keenly contested election.
“Although 34 Members-Elect of the Party were present at the voting session, only 31 of them took part in the exercise with the trio of Honourables Okey-Joe Onuakalusi, Obi Aguocha and Professor Lilian Oby Orogbu abstaining, being persons who conducted the exercise.
“So, it’s only the members of the caucus who overwhelmingly elected him, that have the right to remove him as leader, not “an authoritarian power thirsty individual that’s still battling, without much success, to extricate himself from the muddy waters of multiple allegations of malfeasance,” the caucus said in a statement signed by Hon. Ogene on Tuesday.
It said further: “If Abure’s latest ill-advised tactics is because of the stand of the Caucus lauding the judgement of the Supreme court, which unequivocally declared that Abure’s tenure has long lapsed, then he is way off-mark, because that remains the majority position of LP House of Representatives members – a fact that would be reinforced on Wednesday, April 9, by the number of legislators that will attend the NEC/Stakeholders meeting convened by the Party’s National Leader, Mr. Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti.
“We need to let Abure know, and boldly too, that the Labour Party is a credible organization and not a ponzi scheme, because sadly, everything about his leadership style is all about forgery, money and more money. From Ebonyi, to Plateau, Ondo, Edo (where he embarrassed the party through his undignified episodes with the police), it’s all about slush funds and compromise of the integrity of the office of a party national chairman. Even in Anambra last week, the mention of the name Abure, has continued to emit a putrid smell of financial malfeasance.
“He may wish to tell Nigerians, and the world, what is at the centre of his feud with Eze Oko Splendour of Ebonyi State, Kenneth Imasuagbon in Edo, and the aspirants that took part in last weekend’s Anambra LP gubernatorial farce.
“It is appalling that a man who is yet to account for Party finances arising from the 2023 general elections, nor leaves any penny in the party’s account – despite raising hundreds of million naira in sale of forms and other gratifications in several off-season elections – would be so engrossed in wanting to access funds belonging to the House of Representatives Caucus, which only points to the depths Abure can go to in search of free funds to fund his new-found lifestyle.
“Ironically, no sane organ of the party would entrust the Supreme Court-sacked former national chairman with money, no matter how little, at least, until he is able to cleanse himself of the twin evil of allegations of forgery and pilfering party funds levied against him by former national treasurer of the LP, Oluchi Oparah. Funds belonging to the caucus are intact, and would only be deployed in a manner prescribed by members, not by the former chairman’s discretion.
“The Labour Party deserves a clean break from that integrity-deficient leadership history, to a future that all party faithful will be proud to associate with.”
Discussion about this post