‘You are acting lawlessly without authority, an impostor’ – NLC disowns Apapa

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), through its the Political Commission, has distanced itself from what it described as the ‘shameful conduct’ of factional chairman, Mr. Lamidi Apapa at the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), last Wednesday, calling the latter ‘an impostor ascribing to himself a vague status as the Chairman of the Labour Party.’

The labour group further described Mr. Apapa as ‘a meddlesome interloper who is being used by reactionary forces to deny Nigerians the benefit of an alternative political thought and organisation geared towards genuine national redemption and transformation.’

It would be recalled that the Lamidi Apapa faction of the labour Party which had also self enthroned itself as authentic leaders of the party despite no court order backing such claims, had stormed the venue of the PEPT at the Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja, Wednesday, and demanded to represent the party, just as they also moved to occupy the seat reserved for the executive officers of the mainstream body.

The move was promptly rejected by the already seated Director General of the Peter Obi/Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed Campaign Orgainisation of the Labour Party, Dr Akin Osuntokun, who told Apapa that he was not recognised as national chairman of the party.

The commotion raised by Lamidi Apapa and his group drew the attention of the court, which Presiding Judge, Justice Haruna Tsamani subsequently asked them to exit the courtroom.

However, chaos set in as Apapa was jeered and booed out of the courtroom by supporters of the mainstream body of the party, and was rescued by police operatives from further harassment following their prompt intervention as he was ushered out of the court premises.

Reacting to the decision by Apapa to storm the court, Wednesday, NLC described the move as ‘unfortunate’ as it called the factional leader ‘desperate.’

A statement issued by the organised labour group, and signed by the Secretary, NLC Political Commission, Comrade Chris Uyot, Thursday, said both the NLC and the affiliate labour group which Apapa claims to be a member ‘completely disclaimed giving Mr. Lamidi any mandate to act on their behalf in the Labour Party in any capacity whatsoever thus disowning him.’

According to the NLC, ‘the national leadership of the Congress then wonders who Mr. Lamidi Apapa is representing in the Labour Party.’

“The shameful conduct of Mr. Lamidi Apapa at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal today, 17th May 2023, has once again brought to the fore the desperation of certain elements in the political class to deploy all manner of subterfuge and criminality to divide and despoil the massive goodwill currently being enjoyed by the Labour Party all over Nigeria.

“It is very unfortunate that Mr. Lamidi Apapa who continues to act lawlessly as an impostor ascribing to himself a vague status as the Chairman of the Labour Party and on the claims of representing the Nigeria Labour Congress, is clearly receiving protection from institutions of the state whose mandate is the preservation of law and order.

“The Labour Party which was founded by the Nigeria Labour Congress more than three decades ago confers institutional membership on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC). Institutional representation of Organised Labour in the leadership of the Labour Party is at the behest of nomination by the leadership of the national labour centers, or from the affiliate unions or state councils of the NLC and TUC.

“As at today, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Oyo State Council of the NLC which Mr. Apapa Lamidi claims affiliation to has completely disclaimed giving Mr. Lamidi Apapa any mandate to act on their behalf in the Labour Party in any capacity whatsoever thus disowning him. The national leadership of the Congress then wonders who Mr. Lamidi Apapa is representing in the Labour Party.

“This perfidy by Mr. Lamidi Apapa and his cohorts has been sustained by interested political actors in Nigeria whose abiding wish is the death of the Labour Party. It is clear that Mr. Lamidi Apapa is a meddlesome interloper who is being used by reactionary forces to deny Nigerians the benefit of an alternative political thought and organisation geared towards genuine national redemption and transformation.

“The NLC Political Commission wishes to reiterate its earlier statement disowning the so-called factional leadership of the Labour Party led by Mr. Lamidi Apapa. Any attempt to allow Mr. Lamidi Apapa to foist the show of shame he and his minions exhibited today at the sitting of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal would be strongly resisted by Organised Labour.

“We urge the Nigerian workers and people to retain its faith in our judiciary as the bastion of justice and the final refuge of the oppressed. We also call on all progressive Nigerians to remain vigilant as the court case by the Labour Party is considered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

“Organised Labour as the custodian of the ideology and values of the Labour Party of Nigeria will not sit back and watch conmen take advantage of our name and goodwill to sell the Labour Party to the highest bidder. The focus of the Political Commission of the Congress is the conscientization of workers and the Nigerian people on the need for good governance,” read the statement.

The mainstream body of LP led by the suspended Barrister Julius Abure enjoys the support of the NLC and TUC, in addition to the 36 state chairmen in the country, including the party’s presidential candidate and his running mate, Mr Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, respectively.

Last weekend, the mainstream Labour Party moved to issue a clarification on the claims by the Apapa faction of obtaining a mandate of the court to assume control of the party.

The Labour Party is currently split between two factions led by Lamidi Apapa which claims a court injunction had conferred on it the rightful status of authenticity, as against the much popular and mainstream leadership headed by the now suspended National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure.

The court in Abuja has adjourned till Friday, May 12 to consider its earlier ex parte order it granted to the Lamidi Apapa faction, which it exploited to announce itself acting National Chairman.

However, at its resumed hearing on May 12, the presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu ruled to proceed with hearing the substantive suit filed by the Apapa faction on which it had earlier granted them the ex parte order.

Reacting to claims by Chief Lamidi Apapa on the court authenticating his leadership of the party, the mainstream body dismissed such, as it restated that Julius Abure remains the Labour Party’s National Chairman.

A statement by the party’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, stated that Justice Muazu ‘only said that he will go ahead to hear the substantive matter.’

It would be recalled that at the adjournment, Friday, Apapa told journalists that he has instructed all the lawyers engaged by the mainstream body and representing both the party and its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, to brief him in the next 48 hours on the status of the petition before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) in Abuja, where the Labour Party is challenging the declaration of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu as president-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the conclusion of the February 25 poll.

“The FCT State High Court  under his Lordship, Justice Hamza Muazu today said he will go ahead to hear the motion by the group loyal to the suspended Deputy National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa against some of our leaders including the National Chairman, Julius Abure and three others.

“In his Lordship ruling, he said that he will go ahead to hear the substantive matter. As to this, the matter was adjourned to Friday, May 19 for the start of the case proper and for further deliberations.

“Today’s sitting is not for judgement as no judgement was given by the court as Apapa’s group is peddling in their usual way of misinforming Nigerians.

“Meanwhile, Barrister Julius Abure remains the National Chairman of the Party pending the final determination of the matter,” Ifoh said in the statement, Saturday.

At the resumed hearing, last Friday, the Justice Muazu declined to vacate the ex parte order it granted to Apapa, as he insisted on hearing the substantive suit filed by the breakaway faction against Abure and some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the LP.

The decision by Justice Muazu prompted the Abure faction to file an appeal, as, according to them, ‘we are appealing the ruling immediately because we know we will not get justice from the court.’

The Apapa faction is known to be favourably disposed to the endorsement of the APC president-elect, Tinubu, as it also claims to be against the petition filed by the Labour Party, in preference of an alternative solution to resolving the electoral dispute.