The Labour Party (LP) Caucus in the House of Representatives has described as laughable and misleading the purported appointment of another Lawmaker as its caucus leader by the embattled national Chairman of the party, Julius Abure.
Reacting to an earlier statement by the caucus welcoming Friday’s Supreme Court judgment and expressing willingness to work towards internal peace and progress under the National Caretaker Committee (NCC) led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, Abure had on Monday announced the ‘sacking’ of Victor Ogene as the caucus leader.
However, in a statement on Tuesday signed by Victor Ogene, the caucus emphasized that the position of a caucus leader is not an appointed one.
According to the statement, “Rather, the leader is chosen/elected by peers based on their conviction of his/her leadership qualities and capacity to speak on their behalf in the overall interest of the party and the people they represent.”
The caucus recalled that on May 6, 2023, a 35-member Labour Party caucus in the 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives elected Victor Ogene as its leader.
Ogene, a ranking member from the 7th Assembly, emerged as the Labour Party leader with 21 votes after a keenly contested election.
“Although 34 members-elect of the party were present at the voting session, only 31 of them took part in the exercise, with Honourables Okey-Joe Onuakalusi, Obi Aguocha, and Professor Lilian Oby Orogbu abstaining, being persons who conducted the exercise,” the statement noted.
The caucus added that only those who overwhelmingly elected Ogene have the right to remove him as leader, not “an authoritarian, power-thirsty individual still battling, without much success, to extricate himself from the muddy waters of multiple allegations of malfeasance.”
Ogene further said, “If Abure’s latest ill-advised tactic is because of the caucus’ support for the Supreme Court judgment — which unequivocally declared that Abure’s tenure has long lapsed, then he is way off the mark.
“That remains the majority position of LP House of Representatives members, a fact that will be reinforced on Wednesday, April 9, by the number of legislators attending the NEC/Stakeholders meeting convened by the party’s national leader, Mr. Peter Obi, and Governor Alex Otti.”
He accused Abure of reducing party leadership to a “Ponzi scheme,” saying, “Everything about his leadership style is about forgery, money, and more money.
“From Ebonyi to Plateau, Ondo to Edo, where he embarrassed the party through undignified episodes with the police — it’s all about slush funds and compromising the integrity of the national chairman’s office. Even in Anambra last week, the mention of Abure’s name continues to emit a putrid stench of financial malfeasance.”
The caucus challenged Abure to explain his feuds with party stakeholders such as Eze Oko Splendour in Ebonyi, Kenneth Imasuagbon in Edo, and the aspirants in last weekend’s Anambra LP gubernatorial primaries.
“It is appalling that a man who is yet to account for party finances from the 2023 general elections and who left no money in the party’s coffers despite raising hundreds of millions from the sale of forms and gratifications in off-season elections would be so desperate to access funds belonging to the House of Representatives caucus.
“This only shows the depths Abure can go to in search of free funds to finance his newfound lifestyle,” the statement added.
The caucus also asserted that no credible organ of the party would entrust Abure with money, at least not until he clears his name of allegations of forgery and misappropriation of funds leveled against him by the party’s former national treasurer, Oluchi Oparah.
“Funds belonging to the caucus are intact and will only be deployed in a manner prescribed by members — not by the discretion of the former chairman,” the statement concluded.
“The Labour Party deserves a clean break from that integrity-deficient leadership history to a future that all party faithful will be proud to associate with.”
