Political Briefs
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AFTER several years of struggle, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, finally took custody of the certificate of the Labour Party, LP, as well as its leadership, on Thursday, July 30.
Handing over the LP’s certificate to Ayuba Wabba, president of the NLC, in Abuja, Dan Nwanyanwu, former national chairman of the party, urged the labour union to rebuild the party’s structures against possible extinction. Nwanyanwu told the union leaders that urgent remedial steps must be initiated by the NLC to keep the party afloat.
He said he was returning the certificate back to the NLC which represents the interests of Nigerian workers, the original owners of the party, adding that workers must get involved in politics, rather than leaving their fate in the hands of politicians.
Nwanyanwu said: “Labour Party is a strong institution under the auspices of NLC. Mr. President, NLC must get labour involved in politics, we cannot continue in the old tradition of ‘we no go gree’. That doesn’t change things, we must get qualified persons to go and take up positions.
“Let us humble ourselves and move Nigeria workers forward. Most Nigerian workers are better qualified than some of these governors. We cannot continue to play the ostrich. Let us get qualified people and back them.”
Responding, Wabba commended Nwanyanwu for helping to build the LP from the grassroots to its current level. “He (Nwanyanwu) built the party from grass to grace where we produced key elected positions, he is not in that capacity any longer, but as a labour leader who is concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of not just Nigerian workers but the generality of Nigerians therefore, today, is very symbolic because he is handing over the certificate of labour party to the Nigerian workers through the NLC,” Wabba said, adding: “For me, this is an opportunity we have all waited for. We must have a party that believes in our ideology that is, the ideology of the working class, the ideology of the downtrodden where the issues of social justice and clear pledge in terms of managing our resources will be the main driving force.”
Also in his remarks, Salisu Muhammed, national chairman of the LP, aid almost a year ago, the NLC and TUC having followed painfully the derailment of the party from its core principles and ideals of social democracy, resolutely decided to take control, revitalise and strengthen the party.
He said by returning the certificate, Nwanyanwu had saved the party from needless agony of using “all means necessary” to retrieve the certificate.
Muhammed said with a workers’ base of two million members, the LP would be the largest party in Africa
— Aug 10, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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