The lingering leadership crisis within Nigeria’s Labour Party (LP) has taken a new turn, as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, and the Julius Abure-led faction of the party engage in a fresh war of words, each accusing the other of fueling the party’s internal unrest.
At a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) on Wednesday in Abuja, Comrade Ajaero alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and federal government agencies were behind attempts to destabilise the LP.
According to Ajaero, “It is the potential that we have that is attracting all these attacks. All the agencies of government are involved in the destabilisation plot.”
He added, “The Labour Party is the only party a son of a poor man can become somebody. Over 57 countries have functional Labour Parties run by trade unions; why should Nigeria be different?”
He called on the government to desist from interfering in the affairs of the LP and urged those interested in joining the party to do so. He stressed that the party’s founders have a responsibility to restore order, and revealed plans for action in the coming days to reclaim the party.
However, in a swift rebuttal, the Abure-led LP faction, through its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, accused Ajaero and the NLC of being the real architects of the crisis.
Ifoh described the stakeholders’ meeting as “illegal and purported,” and insisted that “if there is any person or organisation that has destabilised the Labour Party, it is no other than Joe Ajaero and the NLC.”
He accused Ajaero of setting up an unconstitutional Transition Committee post-2023 elections that, according to him, acted as a disruptive force by repeatedly petitioning the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and parading retired labour veterans to challenge the party’s leadership.
“The NLC and its president should leave the federal government out of the LP’s internal issues and look inwards,” Ifoh asserted.
He also referenced a warning from the Ministry of Labour, advising Ajaero to steer clear of partisan politics and focus on his mandate of protecting workers’ welfare.
As the internal rift deepens, stakeholders and observers fear that the ongoing leadership tussle could weaken the Labour Party’s structure ahead of future elections.
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