Edo South Senator, Ned Imasuen, has expressed support for the Supreme Court judgment that removed Barrister Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), describing the ruling as a welcome development for the party and the nation’s democracy.
Imasuen, a member of the Labour Party and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, made the remarks during a media chat with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City.
He accused the embattled former chairman of running the party as a personal estate, adding that Abure’s leadership lacked genuine interest in the party’s welfare.
“Sincerely, I welcome the Supreme Court judgment that sacked Barrister Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party in Nigeria,” Imasuen said.
“A lot has gone on in the Labour Party, and it is very unfortunate. In my opinion, Abure didn’t have the party at heart—it became a personal affair. Instead of preserving the party, it became a battle to tear it apart.”
The senator lamented the prolonged legal battles Abure subjected the party to, noting that the apex court’s decision had brought finality to the matter.
However, he expressed concern over the future of the party in the wake of the leadership crisis.
“The question for me and for all of us now is: where do we go from here? I just hope it’s not too little, too late,” he said.
“Most of the members have left. Will this judgment bring them back? I don’t know. Will it energize those who are still here? Again, I don’t know.”
Imasuen, who is the only Labour Party senator from Edo State in the National Assembly, also disclosed that his committee has received no fewer than 300 petitions since the inception of the 10th National Assembly.
He said the committee has so far treated about 20 petitions, with several others at various stages of consideration.
“The petitions we handle range from oil spillage in the Niger Delta to individuals complaining about being rusticated from universities, denied promotions, or unjustly dismissed from the military.
All manner of complaints come to our table,” he stated.
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