The National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, has rejected the meeting of the party convened by Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti in Umuahia, saying it is unconstitutional.

Obiora Ifoh made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.

According to Mr Abure, Mr Otti and others who converged on Umuahia have no power within the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to convene any meeting.

He said, “Moreover, an expanded stakeholders meeting is not an organ known to the constitution of the party. Article 11 of our party constitution 2024, 2019 and 2009 provides as follows for four levels of party organisations. They are ward, local government area, state and national. It also provides that:

“The organisational structure at the state level shall also apply to the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, as if it were a state. Similarly, Article 12 of the same constitution equally provides that the 12 principal organs of the party are National Convention, National Executive Council, National Working Committee, Board of Trustees and State Congress.’’

Other organs, he said, are State Executive Council, State Working Committee, Local Government Congress, Local Government Area Council, Local Government Area Working Committee and Ward Congress and Ward Executive Council.

“Therefore the combined reading of the two provisions 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,’’ he said.

He challenged Mr Otti to produce the official letter addressed to him from INEC on the subject matter, adding that there was no vacuum in the leadership of the party.

The national chairman said the caretaker committee set up by Mr Otti was not known to the constitution of the party.

“We are shocked to note that the so-called chairman of the caretaker committee is not a registered member of the party,” Mr Abure said.

The meeting convened by Mr Otti produced Senator Nenadi Usman as the chairman of the party’s caretaker committee.

The meeting tasked the committee to rescue the party from its current leadership crisis.

The committee has 90 days to complete its assignment, which includes organising a convention to elect new leadership from ward to the national level.

(NAN)