36 state chairmen of the Labour Party (LP) have condemned the act of political brigandage led by deputy national chairman (south), Lamidi Bashir Apapa and his gang.

Over the weekend, a communique had been issued by the chairmen and signed by Chief Rotimi Kehinde, chairman of the Chairmen Forum at the party’s secretariat in Abuja stating that the chairman had requested the Apapa-led faction to drop its lawsuit against some of the party members in an effort to put an end to the crisis in LP.

The 36 state chairmen stated “as members of NEC of Labour Party met in Abuja, the headquarters of LP to review the recent development in the party where few insignificant members of NWC led by Comrade Apapa Lamidi and his gang criminally declared themselves the new leadership of our party.

The chairmen condemned the act of political brigandage perpetrated by “this small fraction of the NWC led by Comrade Apapa and his gang”. According to them, Apapa and others who were involved do not seem to appear as appropriate members of LP as no one member with the required sanity will destroy his own home.

It also called on “those who grossly violated the provision of our party’s constitution and take internal matters of the party to the court without exhausting all the appropriate instituted channels to resolving disputes and went ahead to court are by the content of this communique directed to immediately effect withdrawal of the matter from court and return to the part of rectitude for due process.”

The 36 chairmen further revealed that Julius Abure, who had been suspended over alleged forgery and anti-party activities, remains the party’s national chairman. 

“Hence the 36 chairmen resolved as hereunder: Barr Julius Abure remains the National Chairman of LP and Comrade Apapa Lamidi’s action along with his gang is accordingly repudiated and cannot stand.

“Those who were suspended by the party led by Comrade Julius Abure remain suspended until NEC decides otherwise.

“They uphold that the NWC meeting called by Apapa Lamidi was a nullity and it failed ab initio. Therefore, any decision reached therefrom is of no legal effect.”

The chairmen also proposed that an immediate meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) be summoned.