The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed its members and supporters to prepare to take over all offices of the Labour Party (LP) across the country, following the recent Supreme Court ruling that effectively removed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the party.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, the NLC accused Abure of operating outside the law and vowed to resist what it described as his “headless and heedless affront” to constitutional rule.
The congress also called on the surviving members of the LP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to immediately appoint an interim leadership to organise a Special National Convention in accordance with the party’s constitution and a previously agreed consent judgment.
“To resolve the leadership vacuum in the Labour Party, the surviving institutional members of the LP National Executive Committee (NEC) are expected to appoint an interim leadership which will conduct an inclusive Special National Convention for the party in line with the provisions of the LP Constitution and the consent judgement,” the statement read in part.
The NLC warned that any deviation from the constitutional process would be “an affront to the rule of law” and a “direct assault on constitutional rule,” insisting that Nigerian workers would not tolerate such actions.
Joe Ajaero further described Julius Abure as an “inconsequential character” whose only value lies in his willingness to engage in political mischief, allegedly at the behest of unnamed actors in power.
“We use this medium to put every Nigerian worker, Labour Party member, and patriotic citizen on alert. We will no longer condone the antics of inconsequential characters like Mr. Julius Abure whose only relevance is their availability for mischief and inanity at the behest of silhouettes in the corridors of power,” Ajaero said.
Citing the Supreme Court as “a beacon of the rule of law and Nigeria’s sovereignty,” the NLC said it would not sit idly by while the court’s judgement is undermined.
The organisation declared its intention to peacefully reclaim LP offices nationwide and said it was already mobilising through the NLC Political Commission and other stakeholders to issue further directives.
“We urge every worker in Nigeria, all genuine members of the Labour Party and all lovers of democracy to be on standby to once again peacefully repossess all offices of the Labour Party nationwide,” the statement added.
The NLC also issued a direct appeal to security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service (SSS), urging them to support and enforce the Supreme Court ruling, warning that failure to do so could project Nigeria as a “banana republic.”
Additionally, the Congress called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fully implement the judgment by removing all traces of Abure’s leadership from its records and platforms.
“INEC… must give full effect to the conclusive judgment of the Supreme Court by removing every insignia of Mr. Julius Abure and his National Working Committee from its portals,” the NLC insisted.
The latest development marks an escalation in the internal crisis within the Labour Party and highlights the growing tension between the NLC, which claims ownership of the party, and political figures accused of hijacking its structures. As both sides prepare for a showdown, the fate of one of Nigeria’s rising political parties hangs in the balance.
