2019:  Labour Party won’t field candidates for any elective position

THE Labour Party has resolved not to field candidates for any elective position during the 2019 general election; be it Presidential, Governorship, Federal or State legislative.

The party hinged its position on a subsisting court order and the fact that the tenure of the present National Working Committee of the party has expired on October 10.

Besides, it said there is no existing national chairman and national secretary of Labour Party.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Barr Ebere Ifendu, accused the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu of conniving with the former party Chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Salam, and interfering in the Labour Party affairs, which is affecting the smooth running of the party.

“I am repeating it again LP cannot field candidates for the elections in 2019 reason being that the tenure of the present National Working Committee of the party has expired on October 10. There is no existing national chairman and national secretary of Labour Party as we speak,” she said.

Barr Ifendu said the attention of the party has been drawn to the news making the rounds that the former National Chairman of Labour Party, Alhaji Salam, on the 9th, October 2019, gathered some people in Minna, Niger State, his home State and told the world that he was holding the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Labour Party.

According to the Labour Party Publicity Secretary: “Article 13 (2) A, explicitly spells out the composition of the party’s National Executive Councils Members. Among the persons on the lists are the Presidents and General Secretaries of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and Trade Union Congress (TUC). None of these constitutional members of the organ were in attendance nor represented. That clearly shows that the purported NEC meeting has nothing to do with the Labour Party whatsoever.

“On the 2nd of October 2018, INEC had written to the Party to comply with the Order of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court to conduct an all-inclusive National Convention involving all Parties covered by the terms of the settlement filed on 14th March, 2018. The letter is very explicit on the action to take, elongation of tenure and suspension of National Working Committee Members are not part of the order of the Court.

“Of great concern to us is the fact that he claimed to have suspended 8 members of the National Working Committee.”

She pointed out that with the end of the tenure of the executive and in compliance with the court order, the Labour Party has no National working committee in place.

“This clearly means that any nomination of candidate done by the party after 11th October 2018 is Null and Void and it will be in contempt of the court order.

“We want to also use this medium to warn INEC, especially the Chairman Prof Mahmoud Yakubu and Mrs Babalola director Legal to desist from conniving with Salam and the acting Secretary, Julius Abure as we will no longer tolerate their unnecessary and biased interference in Labour Party affairs,” She added.

She stated that a 7-man committee is being constituted to oversee the activities of the party and midwife the all-inclusive Convention in accordance with the court order. She explained that this process is expected to be concluded within the next 30 days.