The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, to step down in order to avoid a crisis that could derail the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Acting Chairman of the NLC Political Commission, Theophilus Ndubuaku, made the call in an interview with Punch, urging Abure to honour a previous pledge made through his lawyer to relinquish his position to maintain the party’s stability.
Ndubuaku revealed that Abure had, through his legal representatives, sought an out-of-court settlement two weeks before the Supreme Court ruling, agreeing to step down under certain conditions.
According to Ndubuaku, Abure still has the opportunity to honour this commitment and avoid further tensions within the party.
He said, “After the National Transition Committee (NTC) set up by stakeholders asked him to vacate the secretariat, Abure ran to court, challenging the NLC and NTC leadership. That case came up in the Federal High Court, Zuba.”
Ndubuaku continued, “After our response, Abure’s lawyer informed the judge that they were no longer interested in continuing with the case, claiming Abure had agreed to yield the chairmanship seat to us based on certain terms, which he did not clarify.”
He went on to explain that Abure’s camp requested more time to finalise an out-of-court settlement, and the judge granted them until June 28 to reach an agreement.
However, Ndubuaku expressed confusion over why Abure had not acted on this agreement, especially after taking a firm position before the Supreme Court ruling.
He added, “This situation has become like someone suffering from a mental illness. This is no longer a game. Abure is still holding on, despite knowing he has been removed.”
Abure’s Camp Denies Claims
In response to Ndubuaku’s statements, Abure’s camp swiftly denied any suggestion that the LP Chairman had agreed to step down under any conditions. Speaking with Punch, the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, refuted the allegations.
“It is not true. That is propaganda. There is nothing like that. We didn’t have any out-of-court settlements or any commitment like that with anybody, let alone the NLC,” Ifoh said, further accusing the NLC of using the issue to further their political agenda.
Ifoh added, “Are these not the same people going for discussions on coalition and trying to use the party as a transactional vehicle? They want to sell the party. No, it is not possible.”