The Julius Abure-led Labour Party has disowned the meeting summoned by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, on Wednesday where ex-Minister Nenadi Usman emerged as the chairman of a 29-man caretaker committee.
Otti had called for the stakeholders meeting in Umuahia to address the crisis rocking the party’s leadership.
The meeting produced Usman as chairman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as Secretary of the committee which the party said will oversee the election of its next leaders in 90 days.
However, in a statement signed by the publicity secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, Abure declared the meeting as illegal, urging Nigerians to disregard the outcome.
The statement said the meeting was not organised by the party and therefore does not reflect its position or interests.
The statement said: “As clearly stated in our previous statement, the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti and all others who have converged in Umuahia have no power within the Party Constitution, the Electoral Act and even within the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to convene any meeting of the Party.
“The combined reading of the two provision shows clearly that the so called meeting in Umuahia is a charade, a waste of time and resources of Abia People.
“The premise on which Governor Alex Otti called the meeting is not only faulty but mischievous. Government business is not transacted verbally but through official communication and correspondences which are done in writing. As we speak, there is no communication whatsoever from INEC to the Party as regards any objection to the conduct of the National Convention.
“We challenge Alex Otti to produce the official letter addressed to him from INEC on the subject matter. There is no vacuum in the leadership of the Party.
“Consequently, the so-called caretaker committee set up by the Governor of Abia State is not known to the constitution of the Party and can best be described as a department in Abia State Government House.
“We are shocked to note that the so-called chairman of the caretaker committee is not a registered member of the Party. She surfaced during the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign to assist Peter Obi in his campaign.”
