The leadership tussle within the Labour Party (LP) has taken another turn as the Julius Abure-led faction has firmly rejected the appointment of Nenadi Usman as the party’s interim national chairman.
Usman was named interim chairman at a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Friday in Umuahia, the Abia State capital. The meeting was convened by a rival faction believed to be aligned with Governor Alex Otti of Abia State.
Alongside Usman, former senator Darlington Nwokocha, who represented Abia Central in the National Assembly, was announced as the interim national secretary.
The appointments are part of a move by the faction to reconstitute the Labour Party’s leadership in preparation for a forthcoming national convention.
The newly formed interim National Working Committee (NWC) is expected to take over the administration of the party pending the election of a new NEC at the convention.
However, the Abure-led leadership has dismissed the development, calling it illegal and a further attempt to destabilize the party.
The group insists that only the party’s constitutionally recognized leadership can convene a valid NEC meeting and make such appointments.
