Abure faction retakes LP secretariat as Nenadi Usman camp kicks

 

Fresh tensions rocked the Labour Party on Tuesday night after the Julius Abure-led faction announced that it had regained control of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, barely 24 hours after the Nenadi Usman–led caretaker committee took over the premises.

The Abure faction disclosed this in a late-night statement issued in Abuja by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh.

Ifoh said the party’s national headquarters, which he claimed was “forcefully invaded” in the early hours of Tuesday, had been reclaimed. He also released photographs showing banners and billboards bearing the image of the caretaker committee chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, being removed from the premises.

“The Julius Abure–led leadership of the Labour Party has recovered the party’s national secretariat, which was illegally occupied earlier today by the Abia State Government and Nenadi Usman’s group,” the statement said.

According to the faction, control of the secretariat was restored after it was determined that the takeover by Usman’s camp and the Abia State Deputy Governor was illegal and unauthorised.

Ifoh added that the party would carry out an inventory to assess alleged losses and cases of theft arising from the invasion, after which legal action would be taken.

“The party will take inventory of the losses and outright theft observed as a result of the illegal invasion, and a formal charge will thereafter be pressed,” he said.

He warned that the party would no longer tolerate attempts by what he described as desperate politicians to undermine its lawful activities, advising any group claiming leadership to await the final determination of the matter by appellate courts.

The statement assured party members that normal activities would resume at the national secretariat from Wednesday and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Reacting, the acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, expressed shock and disappointment, accusing the Abure faction of acting in violation of an existing court judgment.

Speaking in a phone interview through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, Usman said there was a subsisting court ruling declaring that Abure had ceased to be the party’s national chairman.

“There is a court judgment in place stating that Abure is no longer the national chairman, and the secretariat is where lawful duties should be carried out,” she said.

She questioned the legality of the action, adding, “Someone has taken the law into his hands by insisting that a court judgment should not be implemented. Have we gone bananas in this country?”

Usman maintained that her faction’s takeover of the secretariat was done lawfully and in the open.

“When we took over the secretariat, it was in broad daylight. Someone else has gone there in the middle of the night to announce that he has reclaimed the secretariat,” she said, adding that she was disappointed security operatives were not left behind to prevent what she described as an illegal action.

The latest development comes less than 24 hours after Usman, accompanied by Abia State Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu, assumed control of the Labour Party’s Utako national headquarters under heavy security.

Earlier reports indicated that armed policemen were deployed within and around the secretariat as Usman’s faction took over, with banners and billboards bearing the images of Abure and his executives removed and replaced with those of Usman.

Party members, supporters and journalists were subjected to strict security checks before being granted access to the premises, while sources said the caretaker committee had begun plans to take over other Labour Party state secretariats nationwide.

Confirming the takeover earlier on Tuesday, Usman said the move was long overdue and dismissed fears of resistance from the Abure faction.

However, Ifoh had earlier accused the police of acting despite an appeal filed by the Abure-led group.

Last month, a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had expired and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise a caretaker committee led by Usman pending the conduct of a national convention.

INEC subsequently updated its records, listing Usman as acting national chairman along with other members of the caretaker committee, replacing Abure’s name.

The ruling followed months of internal wrangling, parallel leadership claims and protracted court battles that intensified after the 2023 general elections.

Despite rejecting the judgment and filing an appeal, Abure has vowed to resist what he described as an unlawful takeover of the party.