The acting National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, says he remains the authentic chairman of the party.
Apapa said this in reaction to his suspension by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
He said claims that he is being sponsored to cause confusion in the party are untrue.
He spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Channels TV, describing his suspension as invalid.
He stated that he was not in contention with Julius Abure as the constitution of the Labour Party is clear on what needs to be done when the national chairman is unable to discharge the responsibilities of the office.
He added that his rejection by officials of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) was due to the lack of knowledge of the party’s history and the roles he played.
In his words, “I was not suspended. I was not invited to the NEC meeting. They think that I was not supposed to be there. As of today, I’m the only legitimate acting national chairman of the party.
“I’m not struggling with Abure. I’m there in an acting capacity. The constitution of the party is so clear on this, that for whatever reason if the national chairman is unable to perform his role, the deputy takes over. That is exactly what has happened.
“Nobody is sponsoring me. Nobody has suspended me. I remain the acting national chairman of the party. I maintain that.”
Recall that following the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja which restrained Julius Abure from parading himself as the LP national chairman, Apapa, who was the deputy national of the LP (south), declared himself as the party’s national chairman.
However, on Tuesday, the National Working Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party suspended Apapa and five other executives for “anti-party activities, contravening the constitution of the party and running of parallel leadership and putting the party in total disrepute”.
Speaking on his suspension, Apapa said his suspension was invalid because Abure did not have the legal backing to convey the NEC meeting of the party