NLC pickets Labour Party secretariats nationwide, alleges ‘financial rascality’ by Abure

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has ordered its members to commence picketing of all Labour party (LP) secretariats in states and local councils across the country as a result of alleged “financial rascality and contempt for the leadership” of the Union by the party leaders.

The directive for the actions which is to begin on Wednesday, was contained in a letter jointly signed by the Chairperson of the NLC Political Commission, Titus Amba, and Secretary, Chris Uyot.

According to the letter dated Tuesday, March 19, the decision to picket LP offices was reached after a virtual meeting of the NLC National Political Commission and the leadership of the NLC State Councils and State Political Committees.

Part of the resolutions of the NLC reads:

“That given the intransigence of the National Chairman of the Labour Party to unilaterally hold a National Convention of the Labour Party, financial rascality and contempt for the leadership of the NLC, the NLC State Councils and State Political Committees should mobilise workers to picket all the State Secretariats of the Labour Party, scheduled for Wednesday, 20th March 2024.”

The fallout between the leadership of the LP and the NLC took a different dimension on March 16 when the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party accused NLC President, Joe Ajaero, of making clandestine attempts to replace Julius Abure, the embattled National Chairman of the party with a cronny.

An open letter purportedly written by the NLC Political Commission had raised various allegations against Abure and the party NWC with claims that there were plans for a national convention to be held in Umuahia, Abia State, on March 27.

READ ALSO:NLC, Labour Party spar over planned national convention

The convention, it alleged, was put together with the aim of re-electing Abure with a new nomenclature as the sole administrator of the Party.

The Political Commission noted that the NLC deemed the planned convention illegal and demanded the immediate resignation of Abure as the party chairman, while calling for the formation of a caretaker transition committee to organise a legitimate and all-inclusive national convention for the party.

But the LP leadership which opposed the directive, pointed out that it was Ajaero’s desire to become the next national chairman of the party that led to the action of the political wing of the union.

In response, the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, in a statement, called on Ajaero to resign as NLC President and contest for the LP chairmanship position.

In the statement titled ‘Resign as NLC President to Contest LP Chairmanship, Labour Party advises Joe Ajero,’ Ifoh said the party’s leadership does not feel obligated to follow the directives of non-party members who are unionists.

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