I am still the Labour party’s Youth Leader – Eragbe

The suspended Labour Party national youth leader, Anslem Eragbe, has said that he is still the party’s youth leader and his suspension is invalid. 

According to him, Julius Abure, the national chairman of the Labour Party, does not have the authority under the party’s constitution to “unilaterally” suspend any executive member.

“Let me say this quickly, we operate under the laws, and there are things we shouldn’t be seen doing. I do not accept my suspension because it is illegal. I am the National Youth Leader, but because of the appeals everywhere, this matter is being looked into within the party system and the stakeholders, they have appealed for calm,” Eragbe said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.

Eragbe claimed that his suspension did not adhere to the party’s constitution’s guidelines for such a measure. He said the sanction did not go via the party’s National Executive Council, which is supposed to bear the responsibility.

The Labour Party gave Eragbe a six-month suspension in mid-October due to allegations of fraud and insubordination, among other things. Kennedy Ahanotu, who now serves as the party’s National Youth Leader, was later brought in to take his place by the party.

However, Eragbe claimed that all accusations against him were “false,” adding that Abure had given the go-ahead for all of his deeds.

Along with Eragbe, Ahanotu was a guest on the show on Thursday. He claimed he hadn’t received a directive from the party to resign.

It would be recalled that the night before his suspension at the FCT NUJ secretariat in Abuja, a youth wing of the party thought to be loyal to Eragbe vowed to retaliate if the decision to suspend him by the party’s leadership was upheld.