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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The state chairmen of Labour Party have cautioned the Lamidi Apapa-led faction not to screen candidates for the off-cycle elections because they remain suspended officials.
Kwara State chairman of Labour Party, Mr Kehinde Rotimi, stated this while addressing newsmen in Abuja, on Wednesday.
Rotimi, who is also the chairman, Forum of States Labour Party chairmen said that screening was currently ongoing for the off-cycle governorship elections for Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States.
“We were at the screening yesterday when we learnt that some people constituted themselves in the party’s secretariat to screen some candidates for the elections.
“When we heard that, we said that was an aberration because they don’t have the legal standing to do that.
“We have our own screening committee. The committee has screened many candidates.
“We came here today to meet at our secretariat but we discovered that it was under lock and key,” he said.
Rotimi said that the chairmen resisted the temptation to cause commotion to avoid contempt of court since the matter was now a legal issue.
”If someone goes to court to accuse someone of an offence or crime, the person must be heard according to the provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“In this case, you accused four principal officers of the party of a very serious offence but they have not been heard by the court. The next thing we are hearing is they should stop parading themselves as officers of LP.
“We are part of the chairmen council, which is a very integral part of NEC and have the final authority to rectify any decision taken by the party,” he added.
The Kwara chairman further said that the party’a NEC has not decided if Apapa and other suspended members would be called back from suspension, but they were already parading themselves as officers, which he said was bad.
Also speaking, Mr Ogboloi Kelly, Edo LP chairman, said that the National Working Committee was an integral part of the NEC, stressing that it was illegal for a small fraction of members to break into the party’s office and install themselves as leaders.
Kelly said that it was an illegitimate act and it would not be condoned.
A faction of the party, made up of seven members of the NWC, installed the national vice chairman (South), Lamidi Apapa, as acting chairman to replace embattled Julius Abure.
They said they were acting on the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which restrained Abure from parading himself as the ational chairman of the party.
However, the 36 state chairmen of the party forced their way into the party’s headquarters, insisting that Abure remained the party’s national chairman.
Reacting, former Youth Leader of the party, Anslem Eragbe, who was suspended by the Abure-led NWC, said that the Apapa group was acting on the court judgement.
“They were merely acting in accordance with the party’s constitution. We are worried over the bad treatment meted on Apapa,” he said.
(NAN)