Labour Party (LP) yesterday rose in stout defence of its National Chairman Julius Abure over his purported suspension by members of the executive of the party in his Ward 3, Arue-Uromi, Esan North East, Edo State.
The party said Abure can only be removed as chairman through a national convention convened solely for the purpose as contained in the party’s constitution.
The Ward 3 party executive members had announced Abure’s indefinite suspension after a meeting on May 15 over alleged high-handedness, anti-party activities and fraud.
A letter signed by the Chairman of LP in the Arue-Uromi Ward, Thompson Ehiguese, and Secretary, Stanley Usiomoh, said the allegations against Abure were being investigated. …CONTINUE READING
The letter reads in part: “While the suspension is with immediate effect, you are advised to refrain from holding out or parading yourself as a member of Labour Party, Ward 3, Arue, Uromi, Esan Northeast LGA of Edo State.”
Endorsing Abure’s suspension in Benin on Friday, Edo State Chairman of LP, Kelly Ogbaloi, declared that members of the state executive council of the party had no choice but to endorse the suspension, which he said was earlier ratified by LP’s executive council in Esan Northeast LGA.
Also speaking in Benin, the Deputy Chairman of LP in Edo State, Patrick Agbontaen, said the party was fed up with allegations of misdemeanour against the LP national chairman, adding that he was fully in agreement with the decision to suspend him until further notice.
But in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, the party insisted that the ward, local government or even the state have no powers under the constitution to suspend the national chairman.
The statement said: “Against the fake news being disseminated in the media, the national chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, has not been suspended by the ward executive of Ward 3, Arue, Utomi, Esan North East of Edo State.
“Thompson Ehiguese, the Chairman of the Ward, has also in a viral video debunked the purported suspension insisting that the ward leadership is loyal to the chairman and also very much aware that it lacks the powers under the constitution of the party to either remove or suspend a national chairman.
“In the Labour Party’s constitution, Article 17 subsection 1 (2019) is emphatic that only the National Convention convened solely for the purpose of removal or suspension of the National Chairman with two third majority can suspend or remove him.
“The ward, LG or even the state has no powers under the constitution to suspend the National Chairman.
“Court of Appeal, Benin Division on the 14th day of August , 2023, under the presiding Justice Theresa Ngolika Orji-Abadua, in a case brought before it by Lucky Shaibu and others against Julius Abure and others, corroborated the judgment of the lower court in their ruling that the National Chairman of the Labour Party cannot be suspended or removed by the Ward executive.
“The leadership of the party is however investigating the source of the purported letter of suspension and will summarily act in accordance with the party rules in disciplining any officer of the party found guilty of contravening the rules of the party.”
Abure, a lawyer, earlier this morning declined reaction to his indefinite suspension by the executive of his Ward over alleged high-handedness, anti-party activities, and fraud.
Our reporter made efforts to get Abure’s reaction through the phone, but one of his three mobile lines kept ringing out while the others were not available.
The text and WhatsApp messages later sent to the lines had also not been responded to at press time.
