Kwara APC leadership crisis deepens as lawmakers tackle Lai Mohammad – Newstrends
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Kwara APC leadership crisis deepens as lawmakers tackle Lai Mohammad

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  • We’re warned against supporting Gov Abdurrazaq – Minister

The leadership tussle rocking the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State does not seem to abate as members of the state House of Assembly have accused Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, of attempting to impose himself on the state.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the minister have been having a running battle.

But the minister has taken a swipe at the governor and his supporters, saying they were power drunk and expressed regrets supporting Abdulrazaq.

Speaking at press briefing at the NUJ Press Centre in Ilorin, the state capital, on Sunday, Speaker of the House, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, said the minister did not in any form support the then APC House of Assembly candidates during the campaigns and election.

Danladi-Salihu, who spoke through the Deputy Speaker of the House, Honourable Raphael Olanrewaju Adetiba, said Mohammed was no where to be found during the campaign and election that produced the Ninth Legislature.

He said the only individual who could claim offering the members massive support during the election is Governor AbdulRazaq.

The speaker said the briefing is jointly held on behalf of 21 of the 24 members of the Assembly whom he said were “convinced that Kwara can no longer be brought under any godfather or slave driver.

“We ordinarily should have ignored the Minister and took it as another lie from Lai Mohammed but for the unsuspecting members of the public and posterity, the record needs to be set straight.”

Flanked by other lawmakers, he also said, “Lai Mohammed did not give any support in any form to members of the 9th legislature during the campaign and election; if he did, he should name who and what he gave out. Could the Minister be mixing things up on account of his old age?

“For God knows reason, Lai Mohammed did not participate in any of our campaigns and did not also contribute financially to it. It was the then Governorship candidate of our party, the APC, who supported our campaigns all through. For the records, all the twenty-four members of the House of Assembly received financial support from His Excellency Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for the purpose of prosecuting the House of Assembly election, so Lai Mohammed should please stop telling lie to the people.

“Apart from the governorship candidate (His Excellency Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq), the other support was the sum of N500,000 each that we received from the national headquarters of our party, APC. Other than that, it was the Governor who funded our expenses including logistics, souvenirs, posters and other campaign materials. Even so, at no time did the Governor go about telling anyone that he funded our campaign.

“It is also laughable that Lai Mohammed could claim to have personally raised money to finance the 2019 general elections in Kwara State. The question that would readily come to mind is: What is Lai’s contribution to his own Ward, Local Government, District and Kwara in general to have earned him respect and reputation for people to trust him and donate money to him.”

The lawmakers advised the minister not to drag them into any fuss he may be having with the governor and leader of the part in the state.

But speaking while inaugurating the secretariat of a faction of the APC in Kwara, the minister said literarily drew the battle line with the governor when he openly criticised him and lamented that “we were warned about his choice then but failed to listen”.

Mohammed who was in Ilorin to commission the new party secretariat of the Bashir Bolarinwa-led faction of the party was making his first public statement on the protracted crisis.

He said, “It has got to the point where we have to speak out. We have been pushed to the wall and we have no choice to come out and exposed there lies and pretensions.

“It was immediately after the governor emerged as the party’s candidate for the election that it dawned on us that we have entered one chance.

“But despite all the warnings from concerned party leaders and others who had reservations about his choice, our reaction then was that no matter what, his choice was better than where we were coming from. But we were wrong.”

The minister also spoke on the call by the governor for the minister and other party leaders to account for the funds that accrued to the party during the campaign, the minister said,

“Nothing of such happened. I single handedly by the grace of God with the support of friends, politicians and associates raised all the money for all the elections we had in Kwara during that period starting from the by-election that brought in Hon Raheem Olawoye (Ajulo Opin) as rep member.

“Nobody gave the party a dime for logistics apart from what I gave. I distributed 500 motorcycles and 200 vehicles and many of the beneficiaries are seated here today. I challenge them to explain to Nigerians and all of you what happened to the balance of the N70m that Ajulo-Opin refused to give us from the N150m that I facilitated to prosecute the elections.

“When it was time for the governorship election, we didn’t see him (the governor) and we could not wait. So we financed the election with the money raised. They got there today and forget those who worked hard to get them there but rather selling lies and dummies.”

He said there would not be congress in Kwara state without the registration of the members who have not been able to do so.

“About two weeks ago, myself, Prof Shuaib Oba, Alhaji Tajudeen Audu met with the national chairman of the APC on the issue. He assured us that Kwara is a special state and there will be no congress until we are all registered.”

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6 Labour Party lawmakers defect to PDP

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6 Labour Party lawmakers defect to PDP

Six Labour Party (LP) members of the Enugu State House of Assembly have officially defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They made their defection known on Thursday in Enugu in a letter read by the Speaker, Chief Uche Ugwu, during plenary.

The defectors include the Majority Leader, Mr Johnson Ani (Enugu North); the Chief Whip, Mr Ejike Eze, (Igbo-Eze North 1); and the Deputy Chief Whip, Ms Princess Ugwu (Enugu South Rural).

Others are Mr Pius Ezugwu (Nsukka East); Mr Williams Amuka (Igbo-Etiti West); and Mr Osita Eze (Oji River).

The defectors, in the letters, said their defection was as a result of the existence of irreconcilable division, incessant crisis within the labour party at the national level and across all the state chapters.

They regretted that the party had evolved into perpetual discord with various factions embroiled in legal battles, which undermine its ability to effectively serve the interest of the people.

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According to them, the Labour Party, once considered a beacon of hope for progressive ideas, have regrettably become synonymous with internal squabbles, thereby reducing its capacity to fulfil the aspirations of electorates.

They cited the cases of Mr Julius Abure and Mr Limido Apapa factions as well as the national treasurer as some of the divisions within the party.

They expressed the hope that the PDP would give them the platform to continue to serve the interests of their people and thanked the leaderships of Labour Party for their supports.

The defectors also acknowledge that the letters were sent to the office of the Speaker by themselves, adding that they would work wholeheartedly for the progress of their new party in Enugu State.

In his remark, the Speaker welcomed the defectors into the PDP and promised that they would be carried along in the legislative activities of the House.

With the defection, the PDP now had the majority in the House with 17 members while LP had only six members.

6 Labour Party lawmakers defect to PDP

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More drama at LP as BoT announces takeover

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More drama at LP as BoT announces takeover

  • NLC rejects Abure re-election
  • INEC disowns national convention

The Board of Trustees at the Labour Party says it has taken over the administration of the party, indicating a fresh trouble in the LP’s internal crisis.

This was announced on Thursday in a statement issued in Abuja by the party’s BoT Chairman, Sylvester Ejiofor.

He said the takeover of the party came after the expiration of Julius Abure’s tenure as LP’s national chairman

Abure was re-elected as chairman t the party’s national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday, amid leadership crisis.

All members of the National Working Committee were returned at the convention.

But the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described Abure’s re-election as “an illegality”.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also disowned the exercise on the grounds that it did not monitor the national convention.

INEC spoke through Rotimi Oyekanmi, media aide to INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The BoT’s statement read in part, “Following the expiration of the tenure in office of the immediate past National Working Committee of the LP headed by Mr. Julius Abure, the BoT, in line with the party’s constitution, has stepped in to steer the affairs of the LP.

“This step is to avoid any leadership vacuum in the LP.

“Furthermore, the BoT of the LP, in consultation with major stakeholders in the party, will soon communicate the processes for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the LP.

“This is in line with the March 20, 2018 Federal High Court consent judgment delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole which recognised the Nigeria Labour Congress as the owners of the LP and mandated that an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the LP be held.

“The decision of the BoT is also in furtherance of the agreement signed between the former national chairman of the LP, Mr. Julius Abure, and the NLC and the Trade Union Congress on June 27, 2022, which was mediated by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“Unlike the charade that took place today in Nnewi and in tandem with the principles of popular democracy, the all-inclusive national convention will start with grassroots congresses at ward, local government, state and ultimately at the national level.

“This process will not leave any genuine member of LP out and will be held in the full view of the Independent National Electoral Commission, media, civil society, security agents, and the general public.”

The Abure-led executive of the party had not responded to the new development as noon on Thursday.

 

A chieftain of the party was quoted in a report by The PUNCH as saying it was a hatchet job.

“Since many of you journalists have been covering this party, have you heard anything about LP Board of Trustees before? It is non-existent.

“How can one Sylvester Ejiofor wake up one day, tag himself as BoT chairman, and issue a statement that he has taken over the affairs of the party? Let him come over to the secretariat and take over then.

“Too many people and mercenaries are just bent on causing conflict in the party,” he said.

 

 

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BREAKING: LP Re-elects Julius Abure As National Chairman

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Julius Abure, the national chairman of the Labour Party

BREAKING: LP Re-elects Julius Abure As National Chairman

The Labour Party (LP) has re-elected Julius Abure as its National Chairman for a second term in office.

Abure was re-elected by a unanimous affirmation of delegates at the party’s National Convention in Nnewi, Anambra State.

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The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the event attended by party leaders and members.

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