BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
No fewer than 13 national, state and local executive officers of the Labour Party have been suspended indefinitely for alleged anti-party activities and gross misconduct.
Announcing the suspension while addressing a press conference on Thursday at the Labour Party Secretariat in Osogbo, the Osun State Executive Council of the party, comprising the state working committee and local government chairmen, said its National Legal Adviser, Samuel Akingbade, State Women Leader, Susan Ojo and 11 Local Government Executive members had been suspended for engaging in activities capable of scuttling the efforts of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, at reclaiming his mandate at the ongoing Presidential Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
The state Chairman of the party, Adebayo Bello, accused the suspended officers of attending a National Executive Council meeting convened in Bauchi, Bauchi State, on May 3, 2023, by a suspended factional National Chairman of the party, Lamidi Apapa, with the aim of weakening the party structure in the state and also working against Obi in reclaiming his mandate in court.
Bello said those suspended were attempting to take advantage of the crisis at the national level to cause confusion and division in the state chapter of the party, adding that their actions were already leading to factionalisation of the Osun Labour Party.
He stated, “The public should note that the entire drama of indignity going on in the Labour Party is being sponsored by an electoral bandit whose main aim is to use fake Labour Party National Working Committee to scuttle the weighty petition that the party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi tabled before the Presidential Election Tribunal.
“The intention is to create parallel structures at the National level and the states to lend support to the dirty agenda of scuttling the legal struggle of reclaiming the mandate of Mr Peter Obi and Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed in the 2023 Presidential election. We observe that if the activities of these undemocratic persons are not checked on time, it will either weaken the Labour Party structure in Osun or collapse it totally.
“Based on the foregoing, the State Executive Council of the Labour Party met on Thursday, May 11, 2023 to address all the issues and forge ahead. At the meeting, we resolved among other things that we affirm and assert out loyalty support and commitment to the National Working Committee of our great party led by our lawfully recognised National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure.
“All appointments and decisions made by anybody on behalf of Labour Party in Osun State remain null and void. For the records, the Chairman of the Labour Party in Osun State remains Prince Adebayo Bello. Any other person parading himself in the above position is blatantly committing impersonation and may face the wrath of the law.
“All identified card-carrying members of the Labour Party who were part of the so-called NEC meeting that took place in Bauchi Bauchi State on Wednesday, 3rd May, 2023. Among those identified and affected by this decision are the following: Barr. Samuel Oyelekan Akingbade (National Legal Adviser), Mrs. Susan Ojo (State Women Leader) and all Local Government Executive members of our party who participated in a meeting organised by the suspended National Legal Adviser and State Women Leader are hereby suspended from the party indefinitely.”
