The Labour Party’s caretaker committee, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, is facing a major hurdle as the Independent National Electoral Commission has yet to grant recognition to the panel, two weeks after its inauguration.
This lack of recognition is stalling the committee’s progress, causing growing concern among its members.
The 29-member committee was established on September 4, with the mandate to conduct elections for new executives at all levels, following a stakeholders’ meeting spearheaded by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi.
However, INEC’s delay in conferring legitimacy on the committee has raised worries, especially after the commission advised them to await the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the party leadership.
According to The PUNCH, a committee member, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed frustration, stating, “The original plan was to persuade Abure or some members of his National Working Committee to attend the Umuahia meeting so that INEC could give the meeting some form of legitimacy. Unfortunately, none of them turned up… Their absence somehow defeated the purpose, leaving INEC to say that its hands were tied.”
Another challenge faced by the committee was the rejection of their initial letter seeking recognition, submitted on September 6, due to a proxy endorsement issue.
The committee has since sought an injunction from a state High Court in Aba, Abia State, to restrain the Abure-led executives from parading themselves as party officers.
Despite these challenges, the committee convened its inaugural meeting in Abuja, attended by notable party figures, including Datti Baba-Ahmed and Ikechukwu Emetu.
However, the Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, maintains that the party does not recognize the committee. He urges party faithful to reject Usman’s team, labeling them “destabilising agents” seeking to harm the party.
Ifoh emphasized, “Our party is intact, and we will not allow visitors to chase us out of the house we laboured to build… The Labour Party is run by a constitution, and anything unconstitutional will not be accepted.”
