…Give INEC August 7 deadline to do so or face civil actions
THE North-East chapter of Arewa Labour Party Stakeholders Forum, ALPSF, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognise former Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Umar, as acting chairman of the Labour Party, LP.
Last May, Umar was appointed by LP stakeholders to head the Transition Committee with Professor Sam Amadi and Abiodun Olamosu as co-chairmen, and Engr. Nnawuihe Nwauwa as secretary.
Commending the INEC for evicting Comrade Julius Abure as Labour Party chairman from the commission’s quarterly meeting with the leadership of all political parties on July 29, 2024, the ALPSF said the INEC should have recognised Umar as the party’s leader if it was not biased against the LP.
In a statement by its Zonal Co-ordinator, Alhaji Alkali Mohammed, the stakeholders alleged plots to work against the LP in the Edo and Ondo governorship polls and other elections. It gave the electoral commission a deadline of August 7 to recognise Umar or face occupation of its offices in protest among other actions.
They said the commendation was in view of “the expiration of Abure’s NWC tenure and their refusal to obey valid Court Consent Judgement and Regulatory Agreement brokered by INEC to which Abure himself was signatory – for the conduct of all-inclusive and expansive National Convention that must include LP, NLC & INEC – who are jointly tripartite parties to the referred Consent Judgement and Settlement Agreement.”
Claiming that Abure and his team jettisoned both NLC & INEC, and LP members to embark on a non-elective convention in which all participants were returned ‘unopposed’ they said interested contestants were not allowed to buy forms to contest, and and there were no congresses at Ward, LGA and State levels to elect delegates to “the charade called ‘National Convention.’”
While commending INEC for de-recognizing illegality and disrespect to binding Regulatory Agreements, they, however, accused INEC of bias against LP for the over-sight of not inviting the Caretaker leadership led by Umar to the quarterly meeting. According to the LP stakeholders, representatives of the millions of LP stakeholders (including members of the Abure NWC and NLC collaborated with INEC to set up the Transition Committee led by Umar to oversee the party in ‘Acting’ capacity and conduct the “all-inclusive” Convention in compliance to the Consent Judgement and INEC-brokered Regulatory Agreement.
They continued: “The Transition Committee had been duly introduced and received by INEC, so it smacks of deliberate attempt to deny LP level-playing field; and to tactically rig us out in ongoing Gubernatorial election in a state like Edo where LP victory is certain having already won 59% of votes there during the 2023 Presidential election (when APC and PDP combined got 41% i.e. APC 25% and PDP 16%). This history is of course, in addition to having the best Governorship candidate in Barr. Olumide Akpata – the former NBA President.
“Creating avoidable/non-existent vacuum in LP leadership by delaying the recognition of the Transition leadership, INEC is deliberately blocking LP from submitting Polling Agents, participating in meetings and complying with other activities in ongoing and upcoming Governorship and Local Government elections nationwide. And we have it on good authority that this apparent oversight from INEC is deliberately sponsored by the opposition party in desperation to win elections fraudulently in LP states by destabilizing the popular party. We cannot fold our arms and allow this to happen.
Giving a deadline of August 7 to INEC recognise the acting leadership of LP led by Umar and upload their names to INEC website immediately to enable them complete all ongoing party and election activities in addition to conducting the congresses and convention in compliance to the Consent Judgement and Regulatory Agreement.”
They threatened to occupy INEC offices nationwide as part of the ongoing “Protest on Bad Governance” and demand immediate sack of INEC Chairman Prof. Yakubu Mahmood if by August 7, 2024 “INEC fails, neglects or refuses to remedy this targeted destruction of our dear party, LP. We shall no longer allow the gentlemanly disposition of our leaders, Mr. Peter Obi and Comrade Umar among others, to continue to deny us level-playing fields and hard earned victories in elections. If INEC allows leadership vacuum a day longer in LP, we shall mobilize our “peoples’ power” to ensure vacancy at INEC Chairman’s office by insisting on his removal from office.
For avoidance of doubt, if INEC does not recognize our interim leadership as demanded herein before August 7, 2024; in addition to ensuring the removal of INEC Chairman, we shall ensure that INEC reschedules all ongoing and upcoming elections to save LP from any disadvantage occasioned by this corruptly sponsored vacuum in our leadership.
The ongoing and upcoming elections are for the Labour Party to win; and not just to participate.”