Labour Party Crisis: Governor Otti Demands Apology from Abure, Apapa as Condition for Return to Party
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has called on the two factional leaders of the Labour Party, Julius Abure and Lamidi Apapa, to tender formal apologies as a condition for their reintegration into the party.
Otti made the appeal on Friday during the inauguration of Senators Nenadi Usman and Darlington Nwokocha as the interim National Chairman and Secretary of the party, respectively.
“We are calling on aggrieved members of LP, including Julius Abure, to reconcile with the party. We are not interested in expelling anybody. All we are asking them to do is to write a letter of apology so that the interim leaders of the party can recall them for us to work with them,” he stated.
CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BELOW AFTER THESE IMPORTANT NOTICES
Log in to primsol.lawpavilion.com and store.lawpavilion.com to enjoy the best E-journals, textbooks, and many more. For further enquiries/assistance, send an email to customercare@lawpavilion.com or call 08050298729
However, Abure’s faction has disowned the inauguration, describing the gathering as illegal, unconstitutional, and of no consequence.
The faction warned Governor Otti to refrain from spending state resources on what it described as “trivialities.”
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the factional National Secretary of the Labour Party, Umar Farouk, titled “Illegal NEC: Otti advised not to use Abia State resources on trivialities.”
Farouk stressed that only the National Chairman and National Secretary are constitutionally empowered to summon such meetings.
“The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to yet another illegal gathering of some suspended members of the party parading themselves as members of the party’s National Executive Committee,” he said.
“Ordinarily, we didn’t think we should make any comment as regards this perennial jamboree since the meeting and its outcome is inconsequential, null, and void.”
Citing Articles 14(4)(b) and 13(B)(xii) of the party’s constitution, Farouk insisted the NEC meeting held in Umuahia lacked legitimacy and violated internal procedures.
“By the above provisions, every meeting convened by the suspended Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, and the Caretaker Committee being the product of the illegal Umuahia meeting is unconstitutional and of no effect,” he said.
He also emphasized that there has never been any vacancy in the leadership of the Labour Party and that there will be none until 2028.
Farouk further referred to the Supreme Court ruling of April 4, 2025, which directed that all intra-party disputes must be resolved internally in accordance with the party’s constitution.
He accused Otti of being out of touch with the current realities in the party, claiming that many of Otti’s allies had since distanced themselves from his actions.
“Dr. Otti and his co-travellers must know by now that the train of the party has moved on and the party is focused ahead of the 2027 general election with or without them,” the statement continued.
“Governor Otti is probably not aware that his flanks have been exposed as majority of his combatants and leaders have deserted him and moved on. He is probably living in ignorance and in the past,” Farouk added.
FOR SUPPORT TO BARRISTERNG BLOG, DONATE TO: 1. NAIRA ACCOUNT: 1023046978 - UBA 2. USD ACCOUNT: 5090743566 - FIDELITY BANK PLC
Call Bridget Edokwe Esq on 08060798767 or send your articles to barristerngblog@gmail.com
A Must-Have for Every Lawyer: Order Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye’s Latest Books on Electronic Evidence Today: To order your copies, click the link below and order directly from the author:
https://velvety-cendol-7387ed.netlify.app/
SHOP NOW
The Price is 10k for Hard Copy less freight and 5k for E- Book copy in the Store of the Website. https://buokorie.com/store/ To access the hard copy, Call - 07087622283
