Senators and House of Representatives members of the Labour Party (LP) have distanced themselves from the Abure-led faction of the party, formally notifying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the establishment of a 29-man caretaker committee.
The move follows a leadership meeting in Umuahia, Abia State, attended by key figures such as the LP’s presidential candidate Peter Obi, Governor Alex Otti, and other party leaders.
The newly formed committee, chaired by former Finance Minister Senator Nenadi Usman, will oversee the party’s affairs in the interim and conduct congresses and a national convention within 180 days to elect a new leadership.
The decision to establish the committee follows INEC’s de-recognition of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) in June 2024.
A letter sent to INEC by the LP stakeholders read: “You will recall that Labour Party had had a leadership crisis in recent times culminating in the de-recognition of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC effective June 2024.
“Given the above scenario, the statutory executives of the party made up of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and legislators in addition to all surviving members of NEC, the leadership of organised labour, representatives of Governorship Candidates in the 2023 election and subsequent ones, Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates in the 2023 election and other party leaders met in Umuahia, Abia State on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 and set up a Caretaker Committee to organise congresses and the national convention within a period not exceeding 180 days to fill the vacuum created by the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile leadership of the party at all levels.”