LABOUR PARTY CRISIS: Trade Unions and Left Organisations Must Build a Genuine Working People’s Party

By the October 8, 2024 judgment of the Federal High Court Abuja, Julius Abure led executive is the official leadership of the Labour Party (LP), unless there is a contrary order by a higher court. Therefore, the separate attempts to remove Abure leadership and reclaim the party by both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and a group led by Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti with the support of the Obidient movement are now in limbo. Given that the tendency of Bola Tinubu led APC government to decimate or weaken opposition parties and against the background of an enormous threat posed by Peter Obi, it is not likely for Abure to lose the control of the Labour Party. It is expected that the APC government would work to ensure that any group associated with Obi or the NLC does not assume the leadership of the party.

By Peluola Adewale

So, the current state of the LP has put to a serious question, ahead of the 2027 elections, whether it is possible to reposition the party as a working people political platform or still serve as a pole of attraction for anti-establishment people who supported Obi in 2023.

The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) welcomes and supports the plan and move by the NLC to reclaim the party from Abure, to whom the party is a bread and butter. But we have consistently argued that there is no guarantee that the party can be reclaimed and that nothing is sacrosanct about this Labour Party which currently has no workers’ base. For us what is important is to build a mass working peoples party either by repositioning the Labour Party or launching a new party.

So, while the struggle for the control of the party should be fought up to the Supreme Court, trade unions, socialists and left activists should begin discussion on the alternative plan for forming and building a working people’s party.

In any case, even if Abure loses the leadership, it is the Nenadi Usman led Caretaker Committee, which was formed by the September 4, 2024 Umuahia factional meeting organized by Obi and Otti, that would likely take over the party. The Transition Committee set up by the NLC has been shoved off and is no longer in the reckoning. Nonetheless, such an exit of Abure and his corrupt band would be seen as good riddance. But, given the experience of Obi and Otti policies, in terms of economic programme which the party advocates there will not be a fundamental change. Nenadi Usman, the chair of the Obi and Otti inspired Caretaker Committee, was a finance minister in the neo-liberal capitalist government of Olusegun Obasanjo. Meanwhile during the campaign for the last election Peter Obi ignored the Charter of Demands of the NLC and advocated basically the same neo-liberal policies being currently implemented by Bola Tinubu and which account for the current monumental cost of living crisis and economic disaster. Obi still subscribes to the same ruinous capitalist programme alongside the continuing monetisation of politics. So, while we will not argue for socialists and left activists to immediately leave the party if the pro-Obi group takes over, it will be wrong for socialists and activists to be silent or uncritical if Obi is using the platform of the party to advocate neo-liberal capitalist program.

It is not also ruled out that Obi may reconcile with Abure if it is the latter that finally wins the legal struggle over the party leadership. There is also possibility of Obi going back to the PDP, or joining a successor party should the PDP break up. But if there is no guarantee of winning the PDP’s ticket, he may remain in the LP.  In any case, Obi does not have any principled disagreement with Abure. Obtaining a presidential ticket is the first principle of Obi. It does not matter if the platform has a rotten leadership. However, Obi being the presidential candidate of the LP will also mean the presence, in the party, of Obidients, many of whom are genuinely interested in working for a better society but have illusions in Obi as a step towards such actualization. The best approach for socialists is to skillfully and patiently explain how and why Obi’s capitalist ideas cannot bring about any real change and put forward an alternative socialist program.

Therefore, regardless of the final resolution of the LP leadership tussle, we reiterate our call for a special conference that involves trade unions, socialist and left organisations, left coalitions like JAF, CORE, TPAMP ASCAB, etc. This is with a view of agreeing on program as well as organisational and political methods of building a mass working peoples political party. Such a conference should also examine whether the Labour Party can still be repositioned as a genuine working people’s party or not. In other words, trade unions and Left have to decide either to form a new party or continue the attempt at reclaiming the Labour Party. However, whichever road is taken, the task remains that working people need their own corruption free and democratically run party which ultimately fights to end capitalism and for the enthronement of a socialist future.