LP Chairmanship: Abure Ousted, As Former Jonathan Minister Nenadi Usman Emerges Interim National Chairman

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Rising from its expanded stakeholders meeting in Umuahia on Wednesday September 4, 2024, the Labour Party, LP, appointed erstwhile Minister for Finance, Esther Nenadi Usman, as the Head of its National  Caretaker Committee.

The Source reports that Governor Alex Otti of Abia state had, last week, convened the meeting  to resolve the issues that resulted from the party’s Nnewi Convention earlier in the year.

The Barrister Julius Abure- led National Working Committee, NWC, which was elected at the controversial Convention, boycotted by the Party’s major stakeholders, including Peter Obi, vehemently opposed the meeting.

Usman also represented Kaduna South Senatorial District in the Senate 2011 and 2015.

The immediate past Senator who represented Abia Central Darlington Nwokocha, was selected as the interim National Secretary.

The 29=member Caretaker Committee is to serve for a period of three months within which period it is expected to reposition the faltering party .

Primarily, the Interim Committee is to, within the period, organize a credible and all inclusive Convention for the election of a new National Executive Council, NEC.

Before then, the Committee will take steps to reconcile all aggrieved members, organize Ward ,Local and State Congresses.

Expectedly, Abure and most of his NWC members, in furtherance of their initial opposition, shunned the meeting, which also featured Datti Baba Ahmed, Obi’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election, and some members of the National Assembly caucus of the LP .

Instructively, the Party’s Gubernatorial Candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Vivour-Rohdes ,whose State chapter had publicly disowned the meeting as illegal, was conspicuously present.

However, it is not yet known what will be the next step of the ousted Abure led NWC.