The caucus dismissed Abure’s move as both “laughable” and “misleading,” reaffirming Hon. Afam Victor Ogene as their duly elected leader.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Members of the House of Representatives Labour Party (LP) caucus have strongly rebuffed attempts by the party’s embattled former national chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, to impose a new caucus leader.
In a strongly worded statement issued Tuesday, April 8, 2025, the caucus dismissed Abure’s move as both “laughable” and “misleading,” reaffirming Hon. Afam Victor Ogene as their duly elected leader.
The caucus’s reaction followed Abure’s declaration sacking Ogene and naming another lawmaker in his place—an act the caucus described as a desperate ploy by “an authoritarian, power-thirsty individual” trying to cling to relevance amid multiple corruption allegations.
“This is not a monarchy. The position of a caucus leader is not handed down by appointment but earned through the trust and conviction of elected peers,” the statement read.
Citing a transparent and democratic process held on May 6, 2023, the caucus revealed that Ogene emerged leader with 21 votes out of 31 participating members, from a 35-member LP caucus in the 10th Assembly. The process, they noted, was credible and supervised by three members who voluntarily abstained to ensure neutrality.
They added that their message was crystal clear: only the caucus has the authority to elect or remove its leader—not Abure.
The rift deepened after the caucus publicly welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to sack Abure and endorsed the new leadership of the National Caretaker Committee, headed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman. This, according to them, may have provoked Abure’s retaliatory attempt to unseat Ogene.
“If Abure’s latest ill-advised tactics are a response to our stance applauding the court’s ruling, he is clearly grasping at straws,” Ogene said in the statement. “We are the Labour Party, not a Ponzi scheme.”
The lawmakers accused Abure of turning the party into a personal enterprise, listing a litany of scandals—from financial impropriety in multiple states to police run-ins in Edo State. “Everywhere he goes, Abure leaves behind the stench of alleged fraud,” they said.
The statement also made reference to recent party controversies in Ebonyi, Edo, Ondo, and Anambra states, questioning Abure’s financial conduct and his obsession with accessing caucus funds.
“Despite generating hundreds of millions from the 2023 elections and subsequent primaries, Abure left the party’s account empty,” the caucus claimed. “Now, he’s casting greedy eyes on our caucus funds. It’s unacceptable.”
They further declared that the caucus’s finances are intact and will remain under the exclusive control of the elected members.
As tensions continue to mount, the Labour Party Caucus has thrown its weight behind the upcoming National Executive Council and Stakeholders meeting scheduled for April 9. The event, convened by party leader Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti, is expected to be a defining moment for the party’s future.
The lawmakers called for a clean break from Abure’s “integrity-deficient leadership,” urging party members nationwide to rally behind a future built on transparency, accountability, and collective trust.
“The time for political banditry is over,” the caucus declared. “The Labour Party must be a beacon of hope—not a haven for corruption.”