JUST IN: Why I visited in Abuja, factional LP leader, Julius Abure

Labour Party (LP) factional leader, Julius Abure, says his recent meeting with Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), is being misconstrued by Nigerians.

Abure came under criticism last week after photos of his meeting with Wike in Abuja surfaced, with some party members accusing him of betraying the LP’s stance.

Speaking during the party’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Monday, Abure said his visit was a private affair.

“Last week, I met with the FCT minister, and it attracted a lot of comments, a lot of misconceptions, and a lot of talk about the photographic events,” he said.

“Now that we have the privilege of convening this meeting, it’s an opportunity for me to make a few brief remarks.

“I want to say, firstly and very clearly, that I am in Nigeria. I live in the FCT, and Nyesom Wike is the FCT minister.

“I have the right, as a Nigerian, to interface and interact with anybody—with any public officer in the federal government of Nigeria.

“The meeting was privileged and, therefore, was purely a private meeting.”

Abure also used the moment to reassert his influence in the party, describing himself as a leader who has built the LP into a national force.

“I also want to say clearly and quickly that we have paid our dues in the Labour Party,” he said.

“We have controlled this party for many years, and by the grace of God, today, the party has become one of the biggest political parties in Nigeria, under my watch.”

Abure’s visit to Wike came amid a leadership crisis in the LP, with two factions laying claim to the party’s national structure.

While Abure leads one group, former minister of finance Usman Nenadi heads the rival faction as its interim national chairman.

The rift has created uncertainty within the LP as it prepares for the 2027 elections, with both factions asserting legitimacy and control over party activities.

The purpose or agenda of the meeting was not immediately known, but it came days after the Abure-led faction asked Peter Obi, the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, to quit the party for joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition.

Meanwhile, Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a minister under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is being reprimanded by his party members for masterminding the extant crisis rocking the opposition party.