Labour Party Secretariat dispute escalates as factions trade blame

By John Alechenu

Abuja – Tensions within the Labour Party (LP) escalated on Tuesday as the faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman and supporters of former National Chairman Barr. Julius Abure traded accusations over the invasion of the party’s National Secretariat.

Senator Usman commended the Nigeria Police Force for promptly arresting suspects involved in the incident. Her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Ken Asogwa, expressed satisfaction that the suspects were providing useful statements to the police regarding their alleged sponsors. He emphasized that the court judgment and actions by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) affirming Usman’s leadership of the LP were “clear and unambiguous.”

However, Abure’s faction, through the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, accused Usman of orchestrating the invasion to score political points. Ifoh alleged that Usman’s team gained access to the Secretariat in the early hours of Tuesday, February 10, and deliberately removed party property to install her own billboards.

“We ordinarily would not dignify them with a response, but Senator Nenadi and her cohorts have already indicted themselves by their own narration of how they gained access around 1 a.m.,” Ifoh said. “Videos of them breaking into offices, including that of the National Chairman, are already in circulation.”

Ifoh further questioned how Usman’s team accessed offices for which Abure held the original keys, asserting that the former chairman was the lawful occupant at the time of the incident. “The chairman’s key was with the chairman. How did they get access to the office to determine what was and what was not inside?” he asked.

The dispute highlights continuing factional tensions within the LP as the party struggles to assert control over its leadership and assets.

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