The ongoing leadership crisis within the Labour Party regarding fund management remains unresolved.
The National Treauer of the Labour Party, Mrs. Oluchi Okpara, who was suspended by the National Working Committee for six months for ignoring the call of the Party leadership to a probe meeting, has engaged the court, seeking to compel the Economic Financial Crime Commision EFCC to probe Abure and thoroughly observe the Party’s financial records.
It was made known that the said petition was instituted on the 15th February, 2024.
In the lawsuit, filed by her lawyer Emeka Etiaba, SAN, Okpara is also seeking the court to nullify her six-month suspension, citing lack of fair hearing before the action was taken.
Her requests are detailed in an Originating Summons with file number: FHC/ABJ/CS/202/2024 dated February 15, 2024.
In this document, her legal representative, Emeka Etiaba, SAN, initiated the action under Order 3 Rule 7 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, and the inherent jurisdiction of the court. Her client is seeking the court’s clarification on whether the EFCC has the authority to investigate forgery.
Following an affidavit deposed to by Oluchi Oparah, she said: “I wrote a letter to the first Defendant, EFCC, bringing a formal petition dated February 14, 2024, against the national chairman of Labour party, Comrade Julius Abure, the 2nd Defendant in this suit for several grievous offences bordering on forgery, embezzlement of the 3rd Defendant’s funds, and abuse of office and failure to account for 3rd Defendant’s funds at his disposal. The letter is annexed as Exhibit A.”
Subsequent to the ongoing crisis, a different dimension has been made public with an allegation made by a former Acting National Chairman of Labour Party, Mrs. Maria Lebeke, who was appointed shortly after the passing of Abdulladir Abdusalam in December 2020.
She further refuted signing any cheques between February 7, 2022, and March 18, 2022, the timeframe during which Abure allegedly withdrew N14 million and two instances of N7 million from the party’s account.
Mrs Lebeke, made these claims during an interview she granted Arise Television on Saturday, she, said: “The cheques between February 7 and March 18, I did not sign them. I only signed the cheques for March 29 meeting in Benin for the National Working Committee members and states chairmen of the party.”
