Acting Labour Party Chairman Apapa and five others are suspended.

 

The Labour Party in Nigeria is facing a crisis as the National Executive Council (NEC) suspended the Acting National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa, and five other members on Tuesday. The reason for the suspension is alleged anti-party activities that were not specified. The other affected members are Alhaji Saleh Lawal, Rawland Daramola, Prince Reuben Favour, Samuel Akingbade, and Mohammed Akali.

The NEC also upheld the decision of the Akure convention, which expelled the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Arabambi Abayomi. Apapa and the five others took over the affairs of the party on April 6, 2023, following a Federal High Court ruling that restrained Julius Abure from parading himself as the chairman of the party. Seven members of the party's NEC announced Apapa as the acting chairman of the party, replacing the suspended chairman, Abure.

Apapa has recently been criticized and accused of being planted in the party by the ruling All Progressives Congress as a mole. In response, Apapa denied the accusations on Channels Television's Sunday Politics program and claimed that he was a founding member of the Labour Party and enjoyed the support of its supporters as the new leader. He maintained that he was not being sponsored by opponents to destroy the party and that he would not do such a thing as a foundational member of the LP.

According to Apapa, since a court has ordered four national officers of the party, including Abure, to stop parading themselves as such, his move is in the right direction. He refuted the allegations that he was being sponsored by opponents to destroy the party. He maintained that he would not run down the party, and nobody was sponsoring him.

The crisis in the Labour Party appears to have deepened with the suspension of Apapa and the five other members. It remains to be seen how the party will resolve the crisis and move forward. The NEC's decision to uphold the expulsion of Comrade Arabambi Abayomi indicates that the party is taking a strong stance against those who engage in anti-party activities. It is uncertain what the future holds for the Labour Party, but it is clear that the current situation is not conducive to its success.