Lamidi Apapa, the interim national chairman of the Labour Party, claims that his expulsion from the organization is unconstitutional and that he is still the “legitimate acting chairman.”
Apapa made this call on Wednesday during an interview on Channels TV.
The factional leader, who acknowledged that receiving the notification was unexpected, claimed that the supposed meeting that was presided over yesterday lacked the right to suspend him.
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In addition, he said that despite numerous calls to Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate in the polls, Obi had not returned any of them.
“I have called Mr Peter Obi several times as the chairman but he didn’t pick up my calls,” he said.
The national working committee of LP, on Tuesday suspended Apapa alongside five others over “anti-party activities, contravening the constitution of the party and running of parallel leadership and putting the party in total disrepute”.
Apapa asserted during the interview that Abure lacked the legal authorization to transmit the NEC meeting, making his suspension void.
He said;
I was told of the suspension but I am not suspended. I was not invited to the meeting and as of today, I am the only legitimate acting chairman of the party.
This is on the grounds that the man who organised that meeting doesn’t have the required authority, the court has asked him not to parade himself as chairman of the party and that order has not been vacated.
As of today, I am the oldest member of the party in terms of age and length of service in the party. For anybody to say I am not known is surprising. In 2002, when the party was formed as a social democracy, I was the first chairman in Oyo and when it metamorphosed into the Labour Party, I remained as chairman for ten years and at the last election I became Deputy national chairman of the party.
When asked about who remains the party chairman, he simply stated;
I am not struggling with Abure, I am there in an acting capacity, the constitution of the party is clear on this that for whatever reason the chairman is not able to perform his role, the deputy takes charge and that is what has happened.
