By Ugochukwu Alaribe

UMUAHIA –The Labour Party in Abia State, has disowned a committee set up by the Julius Abure faction of the party to manage the November 2, 2024,local government elections in the state.

The Abure faction had  set up a screening committee with a former chairman of the party in the state,Hon. Ceekay Igara ,as the head of the committee and the state secretary of the party Rev. Andrew Ohiagba, as one of the members.

Igara had called on interested members of the party from across the three senatorial zones of the state to collect their nomination and expression of interest forms from the party’s zonal offices.

However, the State chairman of the Labour Party in Abia state, Emmanuel Oti, who disowned the list of committee members by the Abure faction, warned the public against dealing with anyone outside hils leadership of the party.

Oti , in a statement, explained that the INEC no longer recognizes Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party as his tenure and that his executive committee,had expired.

He stated that the party had set up the national caretaker committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman to oversee all party affairs, including conducting primaries for the council polls.

“The attention of the Labour Party, Abia State Chapter has been drawnp to a radio announcement issued by the former Chairman of the Labour Party in the state, Mr. Ceekay Igara, directing members of the public on where to purchase nomination forms for the party’s primaries ahead of the forthcoming local government election in the state.

“The public is hereby enjoined to disregard the unauthorised and misleading announcement, because Mr. Igara’s tenure had expired alongside other members of the state and national working committees which prompted INEC to cease to recognise them. It is on this basis that the party set up a national caretaker committee chaired by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman.

“Any statement or instruction concerning the affairs of the party shall emanate from the caretaker committee. Anything to the contrary should be viewed as an act of impersonation, and properly reported to the appropriate quarters. The Labour Party ,Abia State, is not interested in extorting members of the public nor obtaining money from them by trick, hence we are poised to ensure that the sale of forms and selection of candidates are done in a responsible, orderly and peaceful manner so as to ensure that peace reigns even after the exercise.”

Also speaking in an interview in Umuahia,State Secretary of the party ,Rev.Andrew Ohiagba, rejected the membership of the screening committee and urged party faithful to disregard the committee.

Ohagba disclosed that the state working committee of the party was not involved in the setting up of the committee and warned aspirants against dealing with it.