The 2014 acting national chairman of the Labour Party, Callistus Okafor, has called for a reconciliation committee with Julius Abure’s leadership.
Okafor has invited Julius Abure, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and other stakeholders for an urgent meeting to address the implementation of the 2018 consent judgement.
All factions agreed upon this judgement, aiming to conduct an all-inclusive convention.
During a recent meeting attended by the national legal adviser Akingbade Oyelekan and Abdulsalam Abdukadir, it was confirmed that the party leadership still needed to implement the consent judgement.
The leadership crisis within the party has been ongoing since 2015, primarily between Callistus Okafor and Abdulsalam Abdukadir.
The LP 2014 executive members of the party have called for the implementation of a consent judgement entered into in 2018.
The consent judgement, if enforced, will render the leadership of Julius Abure illegal.
During a press conference held in Abuja on Friday, Callistus Uju Okafor, the 2014 acting national chairman and Mamman Bukar, the acting national secretary, stated that the 2014 national executive had the legal right to conduct a convention that would address all irregularities in the party.
According to Okafor, he was elected deputy chairman in 2014 and became the acting national chairman in 2017 after Abdulsalam Abdukadir was removed from the position due to an alleged financial embezzlement. However, Okafor claims that Julius Abure, who was at the national secretariat, made himself the chairman.
Okafor revealed court documents to support his claims and emphasised that implementing the consent judgment is crucial for resolving their long-standing legal battle for the party’s soul.
He explained that before the national convention, the Nigeria Labour Congress requested 10 million membership cards from the LP leadership for its members nationwide—however, the LP national chairman, Barr. Dan Nwayanwu refused and asked the NLC members to join the party in their respective wards. This disagreement continued until the 2014 convention in Akure, Ondo State; during the convention on October 11, 2014, presided over by Barr Dan Nwayanwu, the leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress led by Comrade Abdulwaheed Umar, boycotted the event.
Okafor then discussed a National Working Committee meeting that took place on December 7, 2015, in Lokoja, Kogi state.