The National Executive Council of the Labour Party has suspended the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, and the Deputy National Chairman, South, Calistus Okafor.
The suspension was one of the decisions taken at an emergency NEC meeting held at the AED Apartments, Airport Road, Abuja, on Monday.
A party member, who introduced himself as the party’s National Youth Leader, Mr. Andrew Ukpebitere, addressed journalists after the meeting, announcing the appointment of Bobo Adou and Akinbade Oyelekan as acting national chairman and secretary, respectively.
Until his appointment, Adou was the National Vice-Chairman, South-South.
But when contacted, Abdulkadir described his removal as an exercise in futility.
He alleged that the persons behind the action were sponsored by the party’s former governorship candidate in Delta State.
Abdulsalam said in a telephone interview with our correspondent that “those who addressed that press conference are not our members. They are individuals sponsored by one of our former standard bearers who has joined the APC.”
Earlier, Ukpebitere said the NEC took the decision after noting that since the October 11, 2014 national convention of the party held in Akure, Ondo State, the LP’s affairs had been mismanaged.
He said members were disappointed that despite attempts to make Abdulkadir change his leadership style, he continued to rule the party with “persistent impunity, high-handedness, dictatorship, and crudeness.”
This, he said, “lead to the unjust, unconstitutional and unilateral dissolution of the state executive committees of the party and the suspension and/or expulsion of prominent members and leaders of the party by Alhaji Abubakar Abulkadir Salam, supported by his willing lackeys.”
He was also accused of refusal to communicate amendments made to the LP’s constitution at the party’s last convention to INEC.
Source: Punch News
