From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The national chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, on Tuesday reiterated the readiness of the party under his leadership for reconciliation.
He also charged the state chairmen of the party to always prioritise the interests of the party and that of the nation, which he said supersede all other parochial interests.
Abure also expressed optimism that the courts in Nigeria would continue to do justice in respect of the Labour Party cases.
Addressing the state chairmen of the party from the 36 states and the FCT, who paid him a solidarity visit at the National Secretariat of the party on Tuesday, he said:
“There is no family without disagreement, there is no political party without its disagreement, but the ability to come together after those disagreements is what is most important.
“It is often said that it does not matter how many times a man falls but that what is most important is how he has managed to get up each time he has fallen and continues the journey.
“In other words, it does not matter the level of disagreements or fights, but our ability to come together and be able to resolve our differences and move the party forward is most important. So we are open to reconciliation, and we are ready to resolve all our differences and move the party forward.
“The interest of the party and the nation supersede all other parochial interests. I want you to be conscious of the fact that the interest of the party and the interest of the nation supersede every other interest. With this in mind, I believe that we will be able to come together and have a more formidable party for the future of the country.
“I also want to appreciate the judiciary, so far, for standing on the path of justice. And for standing on the part of the rule of law, I want to appreciate all the justices, starting from the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, for doing justice. I want to believe that the courts will continue to do justice in respect of the Labour Party cases.
“I want to appreciate the state chairmen for standing firmly by us. We drew a lot of strength from you. Seeing that you were behind us gave us the courage and the might to continue to fight on. You are the one that gave us the courage to weather the storm. Just as you drew inspiration from us, we are also drawing inspiration from you.
“I want to assure you that there are better days ahead, that success will be ours at the end of the day, and that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.”
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, the state chairmen were hopeful that Abure would restore the party’s confidence, having come this far in managing the internal crisis.
Speaking on behalf of the chairmen, the Enugu State chairman, Dr Casmir Agbo, said that it took the visionary leadership of the party, ably led by Barrister Abure, to overcome the crisis.
“We are using this opportunity to appreciate the judiciary for positively raising the challenges with proper interpretation of the Nigeria constitution, the electoral law and the party constitution.
“We are, however, calling on our brothers to sheathe the sword and join hands with the Abure leadership to reposition the party,” he was quoted.
