Date: 2018-03-15

The Labour Party yesterday asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Dr Mike Omotosho as the National Chairman of the party.

It alleged that the commission was misleading Nigerians with its claim that the party has been embroiled in crisis, urging the electoral body to henceforth recognise Omotosho in stead of Abdulkadir Abdusalam.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the chairman of forum of state chairmen of the party, Mr Joseph Ndirang, said INEC had refused to respect the decision of the convention of the party held October 3 last year during which it sacked Abdulsalam as the party national chairman.

Ndirang is the chairman of the party in the Federal Capital Territory and newly elected chairman of the forum.

In a communique issued at the end of a two-day meeting of the forum held on March 12 and 13 in Abuja and read by Ndirang, the LP said there was no reason why Abdulsalam should be hosted on the INEC website after he has been removed through the convention.

"The meeting observed with dismay, the inability of INEC, as a regulator of the activities of political parties, to fully comply and impartially implement the overwhelming decision of the highest organ of Labour Party (the convention), which unanimously removed the former chairman, Abdulkarim Absusalam, from office and elected Mike Omotosho as the new national chairman of the party.

"The meeting-in-session noted that the special convention that removed Salam from office, was convened in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution Article 13c and in conformity with the requirements and guidelines of INEC. "To that extent, there should not have been any reason why Salam’s name is still hosted on INEC's website after INEC supervised and monitored the constitutional process that duly removed him.

"For avoidance of doubts, copies of the Nigeria police investigation report and Forensic Audit Report carried out on the party's financial accounts, that indicted the former national chairman and other party officials were made available to the state chairmen for their perusal."

Ndirang said 30 state chairmen present at the meeting pledged their support for the new chairman, Mr. Omotosho.

"The state chairmen expressed their displeasure over the continuous illegal self-parade of Salam as Labour Party National Chairman, even when the National Working Committee, the National Executive Council and Special Convention removed him from the office. This perpetration of illegality has misled people towards assuming that the Labour Party is in a kind of crisis, which is not true."

Ndirang said the forum would visit the new chairman, Mr. Omotosho, and INEC to present copies of the communique.

"The chairmen's forum re-affirms the outcome of the the October 3rd, 2017 Special Convention. We also demand that all relevant stakeholders respect and uphold the decision of the party reached at the convention, which is the highest decision-making political body.

"The meeting demanded that INEC recognises and only deal, henceforth, with Mike Omotosho as the duly elected National Chairman of the Labour Party."

The Labour Party also stressed that it will not join any coalition but will continue to stand on its own as a party.

"The party rejected the move of a former governor under the umbrella of the party to hijack the party through the back door. We admonish the former governor, who abandoned the party that made him when we needed him most to join effort with the new leadership, NLC and other stakeholders to build the party rather than set it on the part of destruction.

"The meeting frowned at the old system where the party never features in elections but used to make money in the personal interest of some leaders. It was unanimously agreed that only people intending to truly contest elections, will be given the party's platform for elections. Labour party is no longer for sale", Ndirang said.

The party commended the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress under Ayuba Wabba for the timely intervention to restore peace in the Labour Party.

Asked if the party would go to court if after its visit to INEC nothing is done, Ndirang said: "That is our last resort, we will do that. But for now, these are the measures we are taking."