In an extended stakeholders’ meeting held on Wednesday in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, the Labour Party appointed Senator Esther Nenadi Usman as the Chairman of its Caretaker Committee.
The meeting, which was heavily attended, aimed at addressing the ongoing leadership crisis within the party.
Senator Usman, a former Minister of Finance and representative of Kaduna South senatorial district from 2011 to 2015, will lead the 29-member committee.
The committee’s primary task is to stabilize the party and organize a convention within 90 days to elect new leadership, starting from the ward level up to the national stage.
The Secretary of the Caretaker Committee is Senator Darlington Nwokocha, the immediate-past Senate Minority Deputy Leader, who represented Abia Central.
Prominent figures in attendance included the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; his running mate, Datti Ahmed; Senator Victor Umeh; and Lagos State’s 2023 governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
The meeting was hosted by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.
The formation of this committee is seen as a crucial step in resolving the internal conflicts within the Labour Party and preparing it for future electoral challenges.
Meanwhile, the Julius Abure-led faction of the party has disowned the newly appointed caretaker chairman, Usman.
Despite a previous Court of Appeal judgment affirming Abure as national chairman, the Labour Party National Convention constituted a caretaker committee, sparking controversy.