Labour Party crisis: Abure invites defectors back, warns against dual loyalty
Factional chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has urged aggrieved members who defected to other political parties to return, saying the party is open to reconciliation.
Speaking at the party’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday, Abure said while the Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of association, LP rules prohibit dual membership. He warned that the party is monitoring members “romancing other parties.”
“The constitution of the party is very clear, and the constitution of Nigeria is equally clear, that you cannot belong to two political parties at the same time,” Abure said.
“We are watching members romancing other parties, and at the appropriate time, the party organs will decide what will happen.
“We are, therefore, using this opportunity to say that our doors are open. They should sheathe their swords and come back to the house.
“If they come back and apologise, we are ready to forgive them because we believe that there is no victor and there is no vanquished.”
Abure described himself as a leader who has built LP into a national force, despite the party facing internal leadership crises since the 2023 elections. The rift has led to defections by lawmakers and party chieftains, as well as the emergence of parallel factions, with former Minister of Finance, Usman Nenadi, leading a rival group.
Recently, Abure’s faction asked Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, to leave for aligning with the ADC coalition.
However, former LP vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, who met with Abure’s camp on Monday, stressed unity, saying LP is “not a party to walk away from.” He pledged to reconcile divergent opinions within the party.
