Obi calls for reconciliation as LP transition committee insists on Abure’s resignation

The Labour Party National Transition Committee has said the crisis rocking the party will not be resolved until Julius Abure resigns his chairmanship position.

Chairman of the committee, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar said the committee would “either we find our way forward or we make our way forward.”

In an attempt to force their way into the premises, the police fired teargas to dispatch the labour leaders.

Omar, who was a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said: “The issue at hand is that the tenure of Abure and the National Working Committee has expired by the end of this month. And there cannot be a vacuum in leadership.

“We have tried to do it peacefully. As much as possible, if we can resolve this issue without fighting, that will be good but from what we have witnessed today, it appears certainly that it is either we find our way forward or we make our way forward. This I assure you.

“We will not tolerate lawlessness but if anybody decides to be lawless because he has the power to pay and subvert our efforts I want to assure you that we are also capable of doing whatever anybody can do we can do more.”

He said the committee has been given the mandate by stakeholders to conduct a new and all-inclusive national convention.

Obi, who addressed the labour leaders outside the party secretariat, said he convened the meeting in order to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.

“Let me tell you one thing, their reconciliation is all about our party and I can assure you that everyone must reconcile with each other.”

On why he attended the NWC, Obi said that he was early at the party Headquarters to initiate a peace and reconciliation process in the party hence the brouhaha involving a faction of Labour Party groups,” Obi said.

“During our meeting before we learnt that our people were outside, I told them that my first assignment was reconciliation, my second assignment was reconciliation and my third assignment, reconciliation and I can tell you that what you witnessed earlier is a normal thing in our lives, I do the same thing. It is what I do every day even in our families.

“When we quarrel with our wives and children, we reconcile. Even today during the meeting, I made one instance which is that I have come to start the work of reconciling the family.

“So these people here are members of the family who we must reconcile with. We are going to sit down around a table and decide the future of our party. I am ready for a reconciliation meeting any day you choose.

“And I like what happened here today. This means we have just started the reconciliation process and what we achieved today was so much, as I told you sometimes it happens in my house and I allow it because that is the only way I know how mature my children have become.”