The Deputy National Chairman of the Labour Party, Ayo Olorunfemi, has refuted claims that the ownership of the party lies in the hands of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC.
Olorunfemi made this known on Wednesday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s News programme.
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The statement comes amidst the protest by NLC members against the Labour Party’s planned National Convention set for March 27.
“The Labour Party belongs to Nigerian workers, not NLC and the earlier we understood this, the better. We have TUC, we have NLC, we even have professional bodies. We have informal sectors of the economy, people who are not unionized at all; they are all owners of Labour Party.
“For NLC to want to lay sole claim to the ownership of Labour Party is absurd. NLC cannot be laying sole claim to the ownership of Labour Party.”
However, speaking in the same interview, the Acting National Chairman of the NLC Political Commission, Theophilus Ndubuaku, disagreed with Olorunfemi, maintaining that the NLC registered the party in 2003, therefore giving it ownership rights.
“In 2018, there was a court judgment by Justice Kolawole that stated clearly that Labour Party belongs to NLC.
“NLC registered Labour Party in 2003. The problem is that they are used to flouting, disregarding court orders, disregarding agreements,” Ndubuaku said.