The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has instructed union leaders across the country to prepare their members to peacefully take over the offices of the Labour Party (LP) in all 36 states, as well as the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
The move follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned earlier decisions made by lower courts in relation to the party’s leadership.
The directive came in an internal memo shared with journalists in Abuja. In it, Ajaero expressed frustration with what he described as continued disobedience of the law by Julius Abure and his faction, who have been at the center of a leadership crisis within the party.
Ajaero wrote, “Just as we warned him about a year ago that Nigerian workers and genuine members of the Labour Party will always collect what belongs to them no matter how long a mischief lasts. By this communication, we urge every worker in Nigeria, all genuine members of the Labour Party and all lovers of democracy, to be on standby to once again peacefully repossess all offices of the Labour Party nationwide.”
He also added that the NLC’s political arm and other stakeholders in the party would soon issue more specific instructions on how to carry out this plan.
The NLC leader further mentioned that security agencies, including the Nigeria Police and the State Security Service, must support and enforce the Supreme Court’s decision. “Any action to the contrary will present our dear country as a banana republic,” Ajaero said, warning against any form of interference that might undermine the rule of law.
In his statement, Ajaero also noted his disappointment that despite the Supreme Court’s judgment, Abure and his allies were still claiming to be national leaders of the party. He criticized what he described as arrogance and disregard for legal authority, which he said previously led to the storming of LP offices in March 2024.
To address the ongoing leadership conflict, Ajaero said the remaining institutional members of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee would appoint an interim leadership to organize a broad National Convention, as provided for in the party’s constitution.
In addition, Ajaero called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fully implement the Supreme Court’s judgment. He said INEC should immediately remove the names and symbols of Abure and his team from their official portal.
“Finally, we call on the Independent National Electoral Commission which had always pleaded alignment with the pronouncement of the court of law in the leadership issues in the Labour Party to give full effect to the conclusive judgment of the Supreme Court by removing every insignia of Mr Julius Abure and his National Working Committee from its portals,” the memo read.
