Fresh tensions erupted within the Labour Party on Tuesday night after the Julius Abure-led faction announced that it had reclaimed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, barely 24 hours after the Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee took over the facility.
The Abure faction, through its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, made an announcement in a statement issued in Abuja late Tuesday night.
Ifoh confirmed that the party’s national headquarters, which was ‘forcefully’ invaded in the early hours of Tuesday, has been reclaimed.
The spokesman also sent photographs showing the banners and billboards carrying the image of the National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, being taken down.
“The Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party has recovered the party’s national secretariat illegally occupied by the Abia state government and Nenadi Usman’s group earlier today,” the statement read.
However, the Abure faction claimed it had since regained control of the premises after determining that the takeover was illegal.
“However, the leadership of the party has since recovered its secretariat after it was discovered that the operation by Nenadi and the deputy governor of Abia state was illegal and unauthorised,” the statement added.
Ifoh said it would conduct an inventory of losses allegedly incurred during the invasion and pursue legal action.
“The party will take inventory of the losses and outright theft that are observed resulting from the illegal invasion, after which a formal charge will be pressed.
“We also warn that the party will no longer tolerate further attempts by some desperate politicians to impugn the lawful activities of the party. We also advise any group claiming leadership to exercise patience until the final determination of the matters at the appellate courts in the land,” the statement concluded.
The statement assured party members that activities would resume from Wednesday at the headquarters of the party, while apologising for any inconvenience caused.
Reacting to the development, the acting National Chairman of the party, Senator Nenadi Usman, expressed shock and dismay, insisting that the Abure faction was acting in defiance of a subsisting court judgment.
Speaking in a phone interview through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, she said, “There is a court judgment in place that says Abure has ceased to be the national chairman of the party, and the secretariat is where their lawful duty should be performed.
“Now, someone has just gone there to take the law into his hands by saying the judgment should not be implemented. Have we gone bananas in this country?”
Usman maintained that her group’s takeover of the secretariat was done openly and lawfully.
“When we took over the secretariat, it was in broad daylight. Someone has gone there in the middle of the night to announce that he has recce, aim the secretariat,” she said.
She added, “I am disappointed because I thought some policemen would have been directed to stay behind to ward off this illegal action.”
The latest development comes barely 24 hours after Usman and Abia State Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, took control of the Labour Party national secretariat amid a heavy security presence.
PUNCH Online had reported that armed policemen were deployed within and around the party’s Utako headquarters as Usman’s faction assumed control on Tuesday.
When our correspondent visited the secretariat, banners and billboards bearing the images of Abure and his executives had been removed and replaced with those of Usman.
Party members, supporters and journalists were subjected to strict security checks before gaining access to the premises.
Sources said the caretaker committee had also directed preparations for the takeover of other Labour Party state secretariats nationwide.
Confirming the takeover earlier on Tuesday, Usman said the action was long overdue.
She dismissed fears of resistance from the Abure faction.
Reacting earlier, Ifoh had accused the police of acting despite an appeal filed by the Abure faction.
Last month, a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that Abure’s tenure as National Chairman had elapsed and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise a caretaker committee led by Usman pending a national convention.
INEC subsequently listed Usman as acting National Chairman on its website, alongside other members of the caretaker committee, replacing Abure’s name.
The ruling followed months of internal disputes, parallel leadership claims and court battles that intensified after the 2023 general elections.
Despite rejecting the judgment and filing an appeal, Abure has vowed to resist what he described as an unlawful takeover of the party.
