The Labour Party has erupted in fury over a viral image showing its embattled former National Chairman, Julius Abure, exchanging pleasantries with the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, a move the party says is further proof of Abure’s deep entanglement with forces bent on destroying the Labour movement from within.
The controversial photo, shared by Wike’s media aide Lere Olayinka on Sunday, has sent political tongues wagging. But for the Labour Party, it was the final nail.
In a scathing statement issued by Ken Asogwa, Special Adviser on Media to the party’s acting National Chairman, the party minced no words: “This man—Abure—is not one of us. He is a shameless opportunist, parading himself as chairman while rubbing shoulders with political saboteurs. He doesn’t speak for the Labour Party.
He never did.”
According to Asogwa, while real leaders like Mr. Peter Obi are engaging Nigerians on pressing national issues and Senator Nenadi Usman is representing the party’s interests abroad, Abure is “busy wining and dining with the very tyrants Nigerians rejected at the polls.”
“Instead of standing with the people, he aligns with the architects of oppression, tyranny, and electoral malpractice,” Asogwa said. “He’s not a leader. He’s a willing pawn.”
Abure’s recent conduct, the party insists, is not new. They accuse him of consistently abandoning the party during its most critical moments—missing in action during the Lagos local government elections, absent from the campaign flag-offs in Kogi, Edo, and Anambra, and nowhere to be found when party unity was needed most.
“He only shows up when it’s time to strike deals or pose for the camera with those who seek to dismantle everything the Labour Party stands for,” the statement read.
The party maintained that Abure’s suspension is active, valid, and irreversible.
“He remains suspended. He holds no position, no mandate, no moral authority to speak for us. Let it be known: Julius Abure is not the Labour Party.”
The party also took aim at what it called Abure’s repeated acts of betrayal and double-dealing.
“His romance with Wike and other enemies of progress raises only one question: Whose script is he reading from? Certainly not that of the Nigerian people.”
Reaffirming its commitment to its founding ideals, the party called on supporters to remain vigilant: “The Labour Party must be rescued from political traders and returned to its rightful owners — the people. It will not be surrendered to those who see it as a bargaining chip.”
With emotions running high and 2027 looming large, the party has made one thing abundantly clear: Julius Abure may appear in the photographs, but as far as Labour is concerned, he’s no longer in the picture.
