The National Working Committee of the Labour Party has described the suspension of its national chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, by the executives of Ward 3, in Arue-Uromi, Esan North- East Local Government, as fake.
The State Working Committee had on the night of Friday, May 24, 2024, ratified the purported suspension of the party’s national chairman in Benin City.
Reacting to the suspension, the National Working Committee of the party on Saturday, May 25, 2024, said its national chairman has not been suspended by the executives of Ward 3, Arue-Uromi, Esan North East of Edo State.
A statement signed by the national publicity secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, dated May 25, 2024, said the ward chairman of the party,
Thompson Ehiguese, lacked the powers under the constitution of the party to either remove or suspend a national chairman.
Ifoh, added that Thompson Ehiguese, the chairman of the ward has also in a viral video debunked the purported suspension insisting that the ward leadership is loyal to the chairman and also very much aware that it lacks the powers under the constitution of the party to either remove or suspend a national chairman.
According to him, the ward, local government or even the state have no powers under the constitution to suspend the national chairman.
“Court of Appeal, Benin Division on the 14th day of August 2023 presided over by Justice Theresa Ngolika Orji-Abadua in a case brought before it by Lucky Shaibu and others against Julius Abure and others corroborated with the judgement of the lower court in their ruling that the National Chairman of the Labour Party cannot be suspended or removed by the Ward executive,” he said.
He said the leadership of the party, is, however investigating the source of the purported letter of suspension and will summarily act in accordance with the party rules in disciplining any officer of the party found guilty of contravening the rules of the party.
