Nollywood actor and politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has reigned as a member of the Labour Party (LP).
Naija News reports that the thespian made this known in a statement via his X handle on Tuesday, stating that the resignation takes effect from the 25th of February, 2025, which marks the second anniversary of the 2023 presidential election.
Giving reasons for his resignation, Okonkwo stated that the Labour Party, as presently constituted, is not in a position to be part of that political force that will determine the political future of Nigeria.
Kenneth Okonkwo also cited the LP’s inability to conduct congresses at the ward level, elect local government and state party executives, or hold a national convention.
According to Okonkwo, it is evident that the LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, is not interested in the party’s survival as he is interested in the survival of his pocket.
The statement reads, “I thank, most sincerely, all Nigerians of goodwill for the immense support given to us during the 2023 presidential election in which Nigerians believed our message for a new Nigeria and voted for us across ethnic and religious lines.
“We were the only party that had 25% foothold in all six Geo-Political Zones and the Federal Capital Territory. I believe that we won the election under the Labour Party with your support but were denied the victory through a technical glitch.
2. By 25th February 2025, it will be two years we had the 2023 presidential election and will be two years before the next presidential election. It’s a democratic convention worldwide that effective political consultations, alignments, and re-alignments commence two years to the next election.
Unfortunately, the Labour Party, as presently constituted, is not in a position to be part of that political force that will determine the political future of Nigeria.
3. For the avoidance of doubt, Labour Party is non-existent as presently constituted. In the Constitution of Labour Party, the tenure of the ward, local government, and state party executives is three years (See Article 15(2)(3)(4) of the Labour Party Constitution).
Having conducted no congresses at these levels within the constitutionally allowed tenure of the executives, their regimes have effectively expired.
4. The former National Chairman of LP, Julius Abure, and his former National Working Committee, having conducted no national convention known to the law, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the courts have held that the issue of the leadership of a political party is the internal affair of a political party for which the courts do not have the jurisdiction to entertain, there’s no effective leadership of LP at the national level.
