The Labour Party's leaders cautioned the Nigeria Labour Congress about trying to take control of the political platform and stated that they do not have the power to remove the Julius Abure-National Working Committee as they recently announced.
The party replied to the NLC Political Commission's decision made at a meeting in Abuja on Monday.
After the meeting, the unionists canceled the national convention that re-elected Abure and his NWC members.
To address the vacancy, the stakeholders announced that the congress will establish a transition committee to manage the party's affairs until new officers are elected in three months.
The NLC's decision also expressed concerns about the need to conduct a thorough examination of the LP as requested by its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, due to allegations of corruption, forgery, and fraud against the party leadership.
However, the party disagreed on Tuesday, stating that the congress does not have the authority to remove its executives.
This was explained in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, titled 'NLC, cohorts lack powers to sack legitimate leadership of Labour Party.'
Ifoh criticized the stakeholder's meeting as an unauthorized gathering of a few disgruntled former members of the party and some 'social media tigers' who are not official LP members.
He stated, "The NLC's Political Commission is a front for Comrade Joe Ajaero, who has empowered it for his political ambition in 2027. The group is not recognized by the Labour Party and therefore does not have the authority to hold a 'stakeholders' meeting to discuss, let alone make decisions that would legally affect a legitimately constituted party leadership.
"The group has been instructed by Ajaero to make sure that there is ongoing crisis within the Labour Party before 2027 by positioning itself as a rallying point for dissident former members of our party, who recently lost the leadership battle in court. We are also aware of the political agreement that the NLC leadership has entered into with the current All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to disrupt the opposition.
"This is why all their attempts to take over the party leadership have failed. First, they tried to unlawfully disrupt the party, then they tried to introduce and establish a non-existent Board of Trustees, which also failed. Once again, their attempt to seize control of the party using stakeholder meetings consisting of former members, social media figures, and non-members will fail.
"It is important to note that Nigerians are suffering under the tough economic conditions of the current government. Workers and the less privileged are bearing the brunt. There are unfair labor practices carried out by employers, but the Nigerian Labour Congress has not taken proactive steps to fight for the rights of workers. We want to remind Comrade Joe Ajaero that he has a lot of work to do for the Nigerian workers, which he is avoiding while engaging in politics. That's why we previously suggested that he should first resign as NLC President if he wants to enter politics.
