Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress picketed the Labour Party’s national office in Abuja on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of Julius Abure, who has been chairman. 

The members, joined by some of their counterparts in the LP, chanted protest songs: “Abure is a thief,” demanding the sack of the 52-year-old politician who, until his appointment, was a lawyer and national secretary of the party. 

The picketing was held nationwide as directed in a circular jointly signed by the chairman and secretary of the NLC Political Commission, Titus Amba, and Chris Uyot, who demanded the resignation or outright ousting of Mr Abure over what they described as “financial rascality and contempt of the union president, Joe Ajaero.”

The protesters disrupted traffic in Abuja.

They later entered the party’s building, where they asserted that Mr Abure could not lead the Labour Party’s national convention later this month. 

Mr Abure, though backed by a recent court ruling as the authentic chair of the opposition party, is battling a raft of allegations, including administrative and financial malfeasance.

The party’s suspended treasurer, Oluchi Opara, first revealed the allegations in a news briefing held in Abuja last month. 

“However, apart from the proceeds of the sale of forms from his home state of Edo -which was diverted to Mr Abure’s private accounts, he only declared N55 million to me as treasurer, of the over N3.5 billion raised, pocketing the rest for himself.

“During off-cycle elections in several states last year, the party raised around N958 million from nomination forms and donations. These funds have completely vanished under Mr Abure’s oversight – with zero paper trail,” Ms Opara said.