1 week ago
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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
In 2023, the signature tune of Labour Party was so loud that its supporters under ‘Obidient Movement’ were combat-read, both online and offline against any individuals or groups with diverse views. However, things began to degenerate shortly afterwards and today, things are falling apart and Labour Party’s centre itself is struggling to strike the balance.
In this interview, the immediate past Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party in Kaduna State and a critical stakeholder in the ‘Obidient Movement’, Elder Yusuf Solomon Danbaki, accused the Julius Abure-led leadership of self imposition and misinterpretations of both the High Court and Appeal Court’s judgement. He also spoke on a possibility of merger before the 2027 round of elections.
Excerpts:
The latest court judgment is in favour of Julius Abure, what are the feelers from your camp under Senator Nenadi Usman?
Let me start by saying that the interpretation of the court judgment that is in circulation was done by the Abure-led leadership of the party. So, it was interpreted to suit their interest, giving the public an impression that the judgement was in their favour. They did that also with the earlier judgement at the High Court and they are doing it again even with the judgement of the Court of Appeal. My call to the media is that when a judgment is passed, seek interpretation either from a neutral constitutional lawyer or get a copy of the judgment because the interpretation of the parties involved might not be the true interpretation. It will be, to favour them.
So, as a party that was involved from Senator Nenadi’s side, give us the interpretation of the two judgements?
Let’s start with the High Court judgment. The case in the High Court was taken to court by Abure when he was denied the right as a party chairman to upload agents’ names and pictures on INEC’s portal. So, he took the INEC to court, demanding that the court grant him the right to do so. He did that on August 29, 2024, if I’m not mistaken. And then on September 4, 2024, the caretaker committee was formed in Abia State. So, when Abure took INEC to court, Nenadi was not in place. But immediately, the caretaker committee was formed; Nenadi then joined INEC in the suit, seeking to join in the matter. The court then granted her application to join in the matter but did not give her a fair hearing. So, the court ruled that INEC should grant Abure his right to upload agents of the governorship election in Ondo State. And then, because the application was granted, the court wrote the judgement against INEC and Nenadi, the leader of the Caretaker Committee but she was not heard.
So, they used that to say the court has recognised Abure as Chairman of the Labour Party?
Yes. Then, quietly, INEC and the Nenadi-led Caretaker Committee appealed the judgement in the Court of Appeal. After two months and some days – from October 2024 to January 2025, the judgement of the Appeal Court came. That judgment contains three things. First, the high court did not have the jurisdiction to entertain the matter of the leadership tussle between Nenadi and Abure in the Labor Party. That it is the sole responsibility of the party to determine its leaders. So, what the High Court did was just an academic exercise. And then, they went further to say that even at that sitting, Nenadi Usman was not heard since she was not given a fair hearing, which is another violation of the basic principle of law. So, in other words, what they are saying is that the judgment in the High Court cannot stand for these two major things: lack of jurisdiction and fair hearing. That was why, in the Nenadi-led leadership, we felt it was not yet Uhuru. We are not celebrating any victory because the court did not also grant the leadership of the party to Nenadi Usman. So, what the court did was to open up the case for the matter for us to be heard. That was why we did not wait for Abure to go to the Supreme Court. We did because the Supreme Court will listen to us. It is there that we will know who is the leader of the party. The court will also test the process that led to Abure’s leadership.
Process? What process are you referring to?
How he (allegedly) fraudulently selected people by himself, being a sole candidate himself and conducted an election that returned him elected by his appointees when the constitution of the party clearly stated that a convention of such magnitude must be carried out by the delegates who shall be elected at the state level from the local government level. So, this did not happen and Abure went ahead and anointed himself with his cronies.
In the Labour Party, we are not saying Abure should not be the chairman. What we are saying is that the right thing must be done. If truly Peter Obi has come to rescue Nigeria, if truly Obi has come to do the right thing, then charity must begin at home. We must start doing the right thing from the party. If not, it will be a lie that we are going to do the right thing when we take over leadership and that is why we are pushing for the right thing and by the grace of God, in no distant time, the Supreme Court, I believe, going by the recent judgments they have been passing, it is showing they are being fair to the parties involved. So, we hope we are going to get the justice we so desire and the whole world will see Labour Party like never before. We will bounce back, bring the aggrieved members together, go to the field and take over leadership from the current APC that has brought untold hardship to Nigerians.
If the judgment was interpreted by Abure-led leadership contrary to the real judgment as you claimed, how come the same Abure was given a warm welcome by the INEC Chairman during his first meeting with political parties in 2025?
The court judgment came on January 17. That meeting took place on January 22. Now, before INEC would call for a meeting, it would have sent an invitation two weeks earlier. When that invitation is sent, it qualifies you as an entrant to that meeting. Now, when a judgment is passed, the court will serve the parties involved. In this case, we have not received the judgment and because of that, he attended the meeting. But that does not translate into stopping him from attending the meeting. Let us wait for the next quarter’s meeting when the court judgment must have been well served.
In all of these, where is Senator Nanadi?
Like I said, the judgment did not also affirm her leadership. The judgment that allowed Abure to upload party agents in the Ondo election recognised him as chairman. Since then, INEC has started recognising him.
There is a school of thought among political analysts that the likes of Abure, Peter Obi and others were trying to destroy the party before exiting it; what is your take on that?
I want to be sincere with you. Yes, they are also claiming that Obi wants to destroy the party. But I don’t see it like that. I only see Abure as being greedy. I see him as someone who wants to remain in power at all costs. Maybe in his thinking that over time, people will succumb to pressure and accept him. But I do not think he would want to destroy the party. So, to me, I will say it is not true that any of the parties involved want to destroy the party. I don’t think so.
But are they planning to exit the party?
They are the ones to say whether they are leaving the party or not. But as their strong supporters and followers, what we think is that if we cannot set a good example at the party level, we cannot convince Nigerians that we are going to make any changes. It will be better to leave the party and start afresh, where we can set the example of the kind of leadership we want to bring to Nigeria.
But in 2023, the signature tune was so loud that the party made a good showing at the presidential election. How is it now in 2025, is the party gaining or losing members?
Yes, people are patiently waiting. Let me tell you, what will make us popular is that we have a strong candidate, Peter Obi. Now, we have a weak government that is bringing hardship to Nigerians as a result of bad economy and political policies. This hardship is increasing. And, with the kind of appointments Tinubu is making, I don’t see it reversing anytime soon. Imagine petrol from less than N200 to over N1,000. Labour party is going to bounce back. Obidient Movement is going to bounce back and we are going to take over power, come 2027 whether they like it or not.
You are talking as if you don’t know the power of incumbency. If Tinubu could win the 2023 election from a distance, how much more that of 2027 as a sitting President?
That was what we thought during Jonathan. It is just a matter of coming together.
Are you suggesting a merger like it happened in 2014?
It may not be the Labour Party alone. It is going to be a strong merger with other political parties. It is not going to be easy with the incumbent, but the house of the incumbent is already divided because many of them have realised Tinubu was not what they thought he was, especially here in the North.
What do you mean, how did not see him?
The North has seen that Tinubu is a political scam. He did whatever he could. He used the. Muslim – Muslim ticket, he shared money and now he’s not the president they expect him to be. So, the APC members in this category are looking for alternatives. I can tell you that half of those in APC in 2023 are no longer with him.
So, which are the political parties that are likely going to make that possible?
Negotiations are ongoing.
Including the Labor Party?
Yes. All the leaders of other parties and their candidates are talking. I don’t want to mention names now but five top political parties have given their consent to this move.
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