Gov Otti, Peter Obi officially write INEC over Labour Party caretaker committee, illegal Abure leadership

• The committee, which is to be chaired by former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, will organise congresses where new leaders of the party will be elected in 90 days

The Labour Party, LP, stakeholders have formally written to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over the 29-man care-taker committee to lead the party in the interim and its plan for a new convention.

Recall that some leaders of the party, including its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Abia Governor Alex Otti, elected Senators and House of Representatives members of the party met in Umuahia, Abia State last week to appoint a 29-man care-taker committee to lead the party in the interim.

The committee, which is to be chaired by former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, will organise congresses elect new leaders of the party in 90 days.

The stakeholders in a letter jointly signed by Peter Obi and Governor Otti told the Commission that the care-taker committee followed the de-recognition of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC effective June 2024.

The letter which contained the list of 29-man care-taker committee named Senator Esther Nenadi Usman as the Chairman, and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as the Secretary.

LP said the Caretaker Committee has the mandate to organise congresses and the national convention within a period not exceeding 180 days to fill the vacuum created by the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile leadership of the party at all levels.

“You will recall that Labour Party had had a leadership crisis in recent times culminating in the de-recognition of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC effective June 2024.

“Given the above scenario, the statutory executives of the party made up of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and legislators in addition to all surviving members of NEC, the leadership of organised labour, representatives of Governorship Candidates in the 2023 election and subsequent ones, Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates in the 2023 election and other party leaders met in Umuahia, Abia State on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 and set up a Caretaker Committee to organise congresses and the national convention within a period not exceeding 180 days to fill the vacuum created by the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile leadership of the party at all levels,” part of the letter read