Ayuba Wabba, a former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, said on Thursday that the NLC established the Labour Party as a platform for union members to protect their rights.
Wabba commented on the power struggle between the NLC and the Labour Party.
On Wednesday, NLC members, following the directive of its leadership led by NLC President Joe Ajaero, picketed LP offices nationwide.
The action aimed to demand the immediate resignation of Abure due to alleged financial misconduct and disrespect towards NLC President Ajaero.
The protesters were seen besieging the LP national headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, chanting supportive songs and calling for the removal of the party leadership.
However, they were stopped from entering the party office by security officers stationed in the area to maintain order.
Also on Thursday, NLC members protested at the LP office in Benin, Edo State.
The Vice Chairman of Edo State NLC, Suleiman Abubakar, accused Abure of managing the Labour Party as his personal enterprise.
The Edo State NLC Vice Chairman, Suleiman Abubakar, accused Abure of running the Labour Party like his personal business.
Abubakar stated that the NLC owned the Labour Party and the union should be involved in every decision made by the party leadership.
He said, “We were directed across the 36 states of the federation to picket the Labour Party offices. We were supposed to carry out the picketing on Wednesday as instructed by the political commission of NLC, but we couldn't mobilize our members.
“The reason for the picketing is that the National Chairman, Julius Abure, is managing the party like his personal property and engaging in financial misconduct. Everyone should be involved. He has announced the national convention and wants to handpick and impose a candidate on us. This is not the right time to handpick and impose anyone.
“The way forward is for him to go to the national body and settle his differences with other officials. He must learn to play by the rules of the game. We are not being sponsored, nobody is sponsoring us,” he said.
Commenting on Thursday, Wabba, who appeared on Channels TV, stated that the NLC owned the LP.
Wabba said, “First and foremost, the Labour Party was formed by the NLC, in realization of a clear objective in the NLC Constitution. According to Article 3 and item 1, the primary objective of the NLC is to promote, defend, and advance the economic, political, and social rights and well-being of Nigerian workers and pensioners.
“We own the Labour Party; it was formed under the leadership of Pascal Bafiau, as Party for Social Democracy. Under Adams, the organs decided to change the name to the Labour Party, and the first Chairman is S.O.Z. Ejiofor, who later handed over to Dan Anyanwu.
“So, the purpose of forming the party is to ensure that workers, pensioners, farmers, can have a platform to exercise their rights, as enshrined in Section 40 of the Constitution. The party was formed by NLC, registered by NLC. It’s like you built a house, you got a C-of-O, then you rented the apartment, so you must have an interest in how the property is managed.”
But the struggling National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, disagreed on Thursday, saying that the Labour Party did not belong to the NLC.
Abure stated, "Recently, the NLC has been saying that they own the Labour Party. I want to make it clear that the NLC is not the owner of the Labour Party. The party is not owned by the NLC. The law clearly states that you cannot protest against an organization where you do not have your employees. We are not the employers of the NLC, so they do not have a valid reason to protest at our office. We do not have any labor dispute with the NLC. This is clearly an abuse of power and an abuse of the country's laws.
"I also want to clarify that the rumors they have been spreading about us planning a secret convention are completely false. The NEC met in April 2023 in Asaba and approved that the convention must be held within one year. We have been planning for the convention since then. We informed INEC as required by the law and notified all stakeholders, including the NLC. I have discussed the matter with Ajaero several times. The NLC itself has written to INEC several times about the need to hold the convention. So, we are surprised that the same NLC is now saying that the convention should not be held. He (Ajaero) has hidden motives, and we will not allow him to take over the party."
Abure, while criticizing the attack on the party's offices nationwide on Wednesday, claimed that the protesters damaged the Abuja office and destroyed property worth millions.
Abure stated, "What we witnessed was a disgraceful display, a demonstration of unruliness, an abuse of power, and a violation of the country's laws."
"The NLC under Joe Ajaero is not exempt from the law, and the law prevents Ajaero and the NLC leadership from taking the law into their own hands. They besieged the office, broke the fence, destroyed the gates, unlawfully took control of the headquarters, and destroyed property worth millions of naira. Property, including money intended for salary payments and other official purposes, was stolen. This is regrettable. It's becoming unacceptable."
"Today, I must declare that the NLC leadership under Joe Ajaero is on a path to undermine the achievements we made in the 2023 general elections. I had hoped that as a responsible trade union center and a responsible labor leader, he would have joined forces with the Labour Party to work together to improve the country. Regrettably, and ironically, it is the NLC that is leading the assault on the Labour Party."
