JUST IN: Obi meets NLC today over conflict with Abure

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, will hold a crucial meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress on Thursday as part of his reconciliatory move to resolve the crisis rocking the party.

 

The move comes one week after the former Anambra governor sued for peace following the invasion of the LP headquarters in Abuja by members of the NLC National Transition Committee set up to take over the control of party affairs.

 

The committee headed by a former NLC President, Abdulwaheed Omar, was put in place by the NLC Political Commission to reposition the party two months after the NLC rejected the re-election of Julius Abure as the party’s National Chairman.

 

Omar and scores of the NLC supporters had on Tuesday stormed the national secretariat of the Labour Party in Utako to demand Abure’s resignation.

 

The protest and threats to bring down the gates of the secretariat disrupted an ongoing meeting of the National Working Committee of the LP being presided over by Abure.

 

Obi, who was also at the secretariat, however, intervened, calling for peace between the LP and the NLC.

 

Obi also spoke on the reconciliation of Abure and the Lamidi Apapa faction reported by The PUNCH, stressing that the two camps came together for the greater good of the party.

 

Our correspondent gathered on Wednesday that Obi will be meeting with the NLC leadership today.

 

A senior member of the NLC, who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, confirmed the meeting arrangement.

 

“Yes, Obi is meeting with the NLC tomorrow (Thursday) as promised. Although it is a closed-door meeting, I am sure the outcome will be revealed to the media after their deliberation,” the source said.

 

Obi campaign spokesman, Yunusa Tanko, also confirmed the development in a phone chat with our reporter, saying it was a continuation of the reconciliation process.

 

When asked if Abure and his NWC members would be in attendance, Tanko said, “No, it is not a joint meeting. For now, he (Obi) is only meeting with all the aggrieved stakeholders one after the other. Since he has had a meeting with the party itself and another with the TUC, the NLC is next. Later on, he may possibly have a joint meeting with everyone in attendance.

 

“Basically, he is just trying to look at all the challenges in the party and try to find a solution to them.”