2027 election: LP directorate to inaugurate state coordinators Friday

Following the fallout of the 2023 general election, the Labour Party (LP) Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration has commenced a strategic move to inaugurate state coordinators, mobilise Nigerians with proven integrity across the country to drive the party structure, and mobilise groups and coalitions at the grassroots level.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Director General of the LP Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration, Marcel Ngogbehei, and the Deputy Director, Strategic Engagements Mobilisation & Integration Directorate of the party, Sheikh Rufai Al-Saddiq.

According to the statement, the inauguration, which is slated for Friday, December 6, will take place at the respective LP State Secretariats and will mark a significant milestone in the party.

Recall that Ngogbehei, in an electronic message through his X handle recently, hinted at restructuring the directorate by bringing in the state directorates, who will work closely with the state party chairmen.

He noted that after identifying the leaders of the state directorates, they would be integrated into the party structure at the national level and would interface with diverse groups at the grassroots level, reporting directly to the directorate.

“We are marshalling out what we call a tactical plan for 2027—a three- to six-month plan, and we’re going to make it a very easy and straightforward one. We will restructure the directorate and look forward to bringing in more hands that will take care of capabilities we’ve seen that are not currently in the directorate,” Ngogbehei said.

“So bringing more people, we’re going to set up the state directorate.” The state directorate will now have to work closely with each of the Labour Party state chairmen and the Labour Party State National Working Committee,” he added.

Ngogbehei further stated that the state directorate leaders would be integrated into the party structure at the state level, where they would have a desk in each of the states and work closely with the party.

He noted that the state directorate would serve as an interface to engage with other diverse groups and help recruit more members, as well as integrate more diverse groups such as the tailoring association, mechanic association, motoring association, and other similar associations.

“The state directorate will be that interface in their various states, and when that is done, we will now see and make some training and ensure that we are able to pull in conveners and then set up the Labour Party conveners council.

“So, these are three key strategic approaches that the Directorate of Labour will do in the next three to six months. So, for the state directorate, we’re going to set up a team: the state coordinator, their assistant state coordinator, the state secretary, and then one person representing his senatorial zones.

“So, this will come together to form the Labour Party state directorate of mobilisation and integration management team. They will work closely with the Labour Party chairman in each state, and they will be reporting directly to the DG of mobilisation and integration at the Labour Party national headquarters.

“We are doing this because we want to solve one of the problems that we encountered in 2023, where there is no harmonious integration between the party and the support structure, where we could not individually identify people in terms of their integrity level or transparency level, and have some level of confidence in dealing with them.

He said if the party starts now by putting up this structure, they will train people, watch them over time, and make sure they acquire the critical skills they will need to support the structure for the party across all the states.

On the functions of the State Directorate state structure, the Labour Party Chieftain said they will be implementing the strategy of the directorate, which will be set out at the national level.

“So at the national level, we will set the strategy and be clear on what should be achieved. We would expect them to work with the Labour Party chairmen in their various states and implement them.

He further stated that the state directorates would help in campaigns and event coordination. “During campaigns, we are not just going to pick up people that we don’t know. We already have people that we work with, and then they will help us to integrate some diverse groups and reach out and do a lot of grassroots engagement.

Ngogbehei said they will measure their success by looking at the number of people they were able to recruit into the party; by looking at the number of coalitions they have been able to build within their state and the number of diverse interest groups they were able to attract.

And that is the direction the directorate is setting for the party. So, the Labour Party will kickstart this. We’ve already had the first meeting with all the Labour Party state chairman where I was invited, and I made the speech to them, and it was well accepted.

“So by integrating into an existing party structure, you take time to learn and grow your skills, and when you grow your skills, you could either decide to be part of the party structure, or you could remain as a supporting structure, or you could also decide to be a candidate down the line. But we want to build a web of trusted fellows with integrity—not the one that will do a grab and run or the one that has an ulterior motive; it is core loyalty to the party.

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