Both factions have decided to throw down their swords and cooperate one year after the opposition Labour Party’s leadership was split, with Julius Abure, the party’s current national chairman, and Lamidi Apapa, its deputy national chairman (South), vying for the job.
In April 2023, a court ruling prohibiting Abure and three others from presenting themselves as national officers of the party caused loyalists from both factions to split apart.
But with the support of the parent organization, the Nigeria Labour Congress, led by Joe Ajaero, the National President, Abure battled back hard to hold onto his seat.
But with the support of the parent organization, the Nigeria Labour Congress, led by Joe Ajaero, the National President, Abure battled back hard to hold onto his seat.
But after a divisive national convention in Anambra three months ago that reinstated him and all his devoted colleagues in the National Working Committee, the beleaguered LP chairman lost favor with the NLC.
Abure would not move in the face of many picketings at LP secretariats across the country and other threats from the unionists, who were calling for an inclusive and broad convention that should begin at the local level.
The action therefore forced the NLC Political Commission to dissolve the newly elected leadership and form a transition committee tasked with interacting with party stakeholders and holding a new convention within ninety days.
Following the open revolt and media war from the Lamidi Apapa’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as well as pressure from the NLC, Abure felt the urgent need to close ranks with the faction. The source at the LP national secretariat, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media, explained this.
“It is the only logical way for him to have a united front against the threat of the NLC in particular. I believe you already know Abure has a long history with Lamidi Apapa and Abayomi Arabambi before now,” the source explained.
When The PUNCH contacted the Apapa’s camp, the factional spokesman, Abayomi Arabambi, confirmed the development.
Arabambi told our reporter that they had no problem with Abure from the outset because they knew he was being influenced and misled by some leading officers of the NLC.
He said, “We are together to stop all those political hawks from taking over our party. We thought they (NLC) were fighting for a just cause. But it is very obvious they only want to take over our party and we are not going to accept that. We in the Lamidi Apapa group are not lawbreakers like those who supported Abure in disobeying the court order. I have said this several times on air.
“It was because of this threat that Abure extended an olive branch for all of us to bond together. It was obvious that these people were not only with him to fight us but to take over the control of the party. So we cannot be outside and allow some people to take over our party. That was why Abure asked us to come together in the party’s interest.
“We are here to fight those people who want to use the Labour Party to foment trouble and destabilize the country. That is what we are against. Nobody is contesting or running for any election now. We know the next race is in 2027. Why should we now be seeking ways to bring the nation down? We are averse to that.”
He added, “I also want you to know that there is nothing like Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign here anymore. It has been dissolved. Everybody has reverted to former governorship and presidential candidate. We don’t want disinformation at the Labour Party.
“Again, you recall that there was a crisis in APC and the PDP. Yet, the warring parties came together and resolved it. So what stopped us from resolving ours? When you are fighting, there is no permanent enemy. It is all about permanent interest.”
Efforts to get Abure to react to the report were unsuccessful.
But the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, also confirmed the reunion, saying there was nothing out of place for Abure to extend olive branches to aggrieved members of the party.
He said, “Labour Party is united. We do not have a division in the sense that as a party that came out of the election hugely successful with a lot of results to show, several people would want to have a stake in the Labour Party. The implication is that a lot of stone-throwing and interest will begin to manifest. But the Labour Party has a constitution and it has a rule completely spelt out.
“Anybody that tries to go out of it will get his hand burnt because the law will not support what you are doing just as the NLC is doing. Besides, we have never seen the Lamidi Apapa people as having their camp because there’s only one camp. That is the one led by Julius Abure.
“Of course, they have the right to be aggrieved and take positions that are not aligned with the interest of the party. But as soon as they discovered it was not the right way, I think they took the better decision to begin to retrace their steps. That is what we have seen.”
He stated further, “Many people who were involved in anti-party activities in the past are beginning to discover that the laws are not on their side. The best thing is to retrace their steps and return to the fold.
“So many other persons have indicated interest in returning to the party. LP does not have any problem with that. Our doors are wide open. If you are out in the cold and you need shelter in the Labour Party, we will bring you back and shelter you.
“The distinguished gentleman you just mentioned (Arabambi) is still our member. He has also recognised Julius Abure as the only national chairman. The party is coming together and I can tell you that the party is a lot more united now than ever.”
