The Rapture, the Capture and the Rupture of Today's Labour Party

Apagun 

On the beautiful morning of January 19th 2026, every member of the Labour Party was expecting a judgement that will make or mar the political party that has been entrenched in a long legal battle of ownership, but was greatly disappointed that the judgement had been adjourned. The atmosphere was tensed as everyone can sense prevailing danger, sniffing a tilt from the cliff of the mountain, whosoever side that received the shocks will definitely lose the locks to the national Secretariat. It was adjourned to 21st of January, as some believed it was not too bad but to some like me, I was jittery.

Then came the moment, I couldn't muster the courage to monitor it live, but moments after the historical judgement, news filtered out, it was a moment of intense pleasure, joy, or overwhelming ecstasy. A moment the supporters of the Nnenadi Usman's faction was raptured!

*The Rapture: When mandate vanishes into thin air*  

While we were enraptured and jubilant, some disappointed and dissatisfied political apologists quickly reconvened together watching closely as the events unfolded, switching allegiance and repositioning themselves at the highest level, mediating and negotiating positions down to the grassroots at the expense of those who sought, aligned, fought and were greatly persecuted for standing up for this today's leadership of Labour Party yesterday. I can vividly remember November 17th 2024, when we broke out of the Abure faction to declare our support for the Caretaker Committee and inaugurate the Interim Executive Committee (IEC) of the Ogun State Labour Party, under heavy security at the expense of our blood, televised and broadcasted through Arise TV, Channels TV, published by Tribune, Punch, Vanguard and several bloggers.

Hence, our invitation to the Labour House during a retreat organized by the NTC, the Labour Movement and the Caretaker Committee when the horizon was opaque and the hope was slim. We gave Obiora Ifoh, some hard nuts to crack as he was forced to be making several counter press conferences and releases against us in order to quel the political inferno that would have consumed Abure if not checkmated, while Com. Tokunbo Peters, my dear brother, the erstwhile Publicity Secretary in Ogun State was given a sleepless nights as he engaged us day after day while we continued to wax stronger. We became a nightmare to Mr.Kehinde Sogunle and Com.Lookman Abiodun Jagun who was the State Chairman.

Now, think of the state Congress as an altar after surviving threats, persecution, unlawful arrests, defamation of characters, contempts as the Patriots are being sidelines while the traitors were being rewarded as we were being misrepresented, misconceived by reason of the calculated propaganda. During the Congresses, Delegates voted, winners are called, hands are raised. That moment should be a rapture: a lifting of the people's choice into public record. Instead, the national leadership performed a surgical mutilation. Results were edited mid-air. Names of actual winners were replaced by those who did not even participate before the communique cooled. While the report by the INEC clearly shows Apagun Olaolu Samuel emerged winner as the Chairman and published by the INEC through their notice board, the falsified memo to the INEC by the national leadership of the party states otherwise, causing confusion and frictions within the state structures.

It’s like a referee blowing the final whistle, the stadium erupts, then someone in the VIP box rewinds the tape and declares a different team scored. The crowd still heard the cheer, but the scoreboard was rewritten. That’s not correction. That’s erasure. If internal democratic processes are not allowed to thrive and prevail in democratic institutions, definitely like Fela said, "Democracy can then be best defined as demonstration of crazy people".

*The Capture: Institutional hijack in slow motion* 

 

Undemocratic handling of Congress disputes is not chaos. It’s capture. When the party’s national organs treat every case emanating from the state as a threat to be managed, not a voice to be heard, in an institutional party that believes in Equal Opportunities and Social Justice, the institution stops being a platform and becomes a vault. Only those with the combination get to decide who walks in.  

 A bank built with depositors’ money, but only the manager’s cousins can make withdrawals. The structure stands, the sign remains, but the purpose has been kidnapped. The Labour Party was built as an alternative to godfather politics, and as it appears to be now, it's been captured, though not been kept under lock and keys but soonest might be turned into what it once fought.

The Rupture: What breaks when trust is replaced

Mutilating Congress results and swapping winners does three things at once:  

1. Ruptures legitimacy: If members can’t trust the process, they can’t defend the product.  

2. Ruptures morale: Volunteers who campaigned, mobilized, and voted learn that fidelity has no reward.  

3. Ruptures identity: A party called “Labour” loses its moral wage. Workers respect rules. When rules are bent, the name becomes irony.  

Just like a rope bridge. Each Congress is a plank. Replace the plank with paper board, and the bridge still looks crossable from a distance. The rupture happens only when weight is applied. Elections are weight. Democracy inside a party is not decoration. It’s diagnostics. When internal elections are mutilated, the party loses the ability to detect its own weakness. You can’t strategize if you don’t know who actually won. You can’t mobilize if members believe the game is fixed. And you can’t claim to fight external impunity while practicing internal impunity.

The Labour Party’s current crisis isn’t just about names on a list. It’s about whether the party will be a movement or a monument. Movements correct themselves. Monuments are corrected by history.

Rapture lifts. Capture holds. Rupture breaks. Today’s Labour Party is suspended between all three. What happens next depends on whether leadership restores the mandate or keeps rewriting it.

©Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Chairman, 

Ogun State Labour Party

Why A Federal High Court Ordered Deregistration of ADC, Accord Party, APP, AA, ZLP

A Federal High Court Monday ordered the electoral umpire to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Accord Party and three other political parties.

Justice Peter Lifu issued the directive to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) while delivering judgement in a suit instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators.

Justice Lifu predicated his decision on the grounds that the affected political parties did not meet Section 225 of the Constitution.

The other political parties the court directed the electoral body to deregister are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The National Forum of Former Legislators had, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.

It was the position of the plaintiff that the five political parties listed as defendants in the matter had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.

The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.


They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.

The litigants insisted that the continued existence of these five political parties as recognised political parties is unlawful and undermines the integrity of the country’s electoral system.

Among other reliefs, the plaintiff urged the court to declare that INEC is duty-bound to deregister such parties.

It further urged the court to compel the commission to deregister the five political parties before preparations for the 2027 elections advance further.

Beyond declaratory reliefs, the plaintiff prayed the court to restrain the five affected parties from participating in general elections or engaging in political activities such as campaigns, rallies, and primaries.

It also sought a court injunction restraining INEC from recognising or dealing with the parties in any official capacity unless and until they strictly comply with constitutional provisions.

The judgment may affect the chances of candidates of the affected political parties, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to contest the 2027 presidential poll.

Incumbent Governor of Osun State Ademola Adeleke if the Accord Party may be facing major political setback.

It's hopeful that such judgement will be challenged at the Appeal Court.

Opposition political parties have been facing disorganization, sponsored disorderliness and brutal infiltrations and attacks including using the judiciary like never before in the political history of this country under the Bola Tinubu led pro terrorists government.  The security, Sociopolitical and economy of the country remains unsafe and uncertain as more than majority of the citizens are wallowing in abject poverty in the face of insecurity already destined the incumbent ruling party to lose the 2027 general elections.

#Posterspeaks: Arc Dr Peter Agada on Labour Direct Initiatives

 

JUNE 12 RALLY: TMN , CSOs call for Nationwide improve security, justice and accountability (PHOTOS)

The Movement Nigeria (TMN) SECURITY FRAMEWORK: SIX PILLARS FOR A SAFER NIGERIA

 Secure Every School Initiative

Every public and private school in Nigeria should be protected through a coordinated national school security program.

This program should include:

* Dedicated School Protection Units.

* Security technology and emergency alert systems.

* Perimeter protection infrastructure.

* Regular security audits.

* Community-based school safety partnerships.

Schools must remain places of learning, not targets of fear.

2. Intelligence-Led Security Architecture

Modern security challenges require modern solutions.

Nigeria must strengthen:

* Intelligence gathering.

* Inter-agency collaboration.

* Real-time information sharing.

* Digital surveillance capabilities.

* Data-driven crime prevention systems.

Successful nations defeat criminal networks not merely with force, but with superior intelligence.

3. Community Security Partnership

Security cannot be achieved by government alone.

Every community must become an active partner in safeguarding lives and property.

This requires:

* Community policing structures.

* Local security volunteer networks.

* Traditional institution participation.

* Youth engagement programs.

* Early-warning reporting systems.

Citizens are often the first to notice emerging threats.

4. Economic Empowerment as a Security Strategy

Lasting peace requires economic opportunity.

Millions of young Nigerians possess enormous potential but lack access to productive opportunities.

TMN advocates:

* Large-scale agricultural empowerment programs.

* Agro-processing hubs.

* Skills acquisition initiatives.

* Entrepreneurship financing.

* Rural economic development projects.

Every young person productively employed is one less person vulnerable to recruitment into criminal activities.

5. Border Security and National Sovereignty*

Nigeria must strengthen the protection of its borders through:

* Advanced surveillance technology.

* Border monitoring systems.

* Improved immigration controls.

* Regional security cooperation.

* Enhanced maritime and land border security.

National security begins with effective control of national territory.

6. Justice, Accountability and Victim Support

Criminality thrives where accountability is weak.

Nigeria must ensure:

* Swift prosecution of terrorism financiers.

* Stronger anti-money laundering enforcement.

* Protection of witnesses.

* Compensation for victims and affected families.

* Rehabilitation support for rescued victims.

Justice must be visible, fair and effective.

PRESS STATEMENT: NIGERIA MUST PROTECT HER PEOPLE: A CALL FOR NATIONAL ACTION, COMPASSION AND SECURITY REFORM

By The Movement Nigeria (TMN)

Fellow Nigerians,

Today, we gather not as representatives of any political interest, ethnic group, religion or region, but as concerned citizens united by a shared sense of humanity and patriotism.

Our hearts are with every family currently experiencing the pain of insecurity, particularly the parents, teachers and loved ones of the school children and citizens who remain in captivity across different parts of our country.

No nation can truly prosper when its people live in fear.

No parent should send a child to school uncertain of their safety.

No teacher should be forced to choose between educating children and preserving their own life.

No community should live under the constant threat of violence, kidnapping or displacement.

The Movement Nigeria (TMN) is organizing this candlelight gathering in Oyo State as a solemn moment of reflection, solidarity and national responsibility.

We remember every victim.

We stand with every affected family.

We pray for the safe return of every person currently in captivity.

We honor the sacrifices of our security personnel who continue to put their lives on the line daily in defense of our nation.

At this difficult moment, Nigeria does not need more division. Nigeria needs leadership, compassion, courage and practical solutions.

The security challenges confronting our nation were not created overnight, and they will not disappear overnight. However, history shows that countries facing similar threats have successfully restored peace through determined leadership, institutional reforms, community participation and sustained economic development.

Countries such as Colombia significantly reduced insurgency and kidnapping through intelligence-driven operations and coordinated security reforms.

Rwanda rebuilt national security through strong institutions, local vigilance structures and national unity programs.

Indonesia weakened extremist networks through effective intelligence gathering, community engagement and targeted security operations.

Singapore continues to maintain one of the safest societies in the world through efficient policing, technology, strong institutions and strict accountability.

Nigeria can learn from these experiences while developing solutions tailored to our own realities.

*THE AGADA SECURITY FRAMEWORK: SIX PILLARS FOR A SAFER NIGERIA*

*1. Secure Every School Initiative*

Every public and private school in Nigeria should be protected through a coordinated national school security program.

This program should include:

* Dedicated School Protection Units.

* Security technology and emergency alert systems.

* Perimeter protection infrastructure.

* Regular security audits.

* Community-based school safety partnerships.

Schools must remain places of learning, not targets of fear.

*2. Intelligence-Led Security Architecture*

Modern security challenges require modern solutions.

Nigeria must strengthen:

* Intelligence gathering.

* Inter-agency collaboration.

* Real-time information sharing.

* Digital surveillance capabilities.

* Data-driven crime prevention systems.

Successful nations defeat criminal networks not merely with force, but with superior intelligence.

*3. Community Security Partnership*

Security cannot be achieved by government alone.

Every community must become an active partner in safeguarding lives and property.

This requires:

* Community policing structures.

* Local security volunteer networks.

* Traditional institution participation.

* Youth engagement programs.

* Early-warning reporting systems.

Citizens are often the first to notice emerging threats.

*4. Economic Empowerment as a Security Strategy*

Lasting peace requires economic opportunity.

Millions of young Nigerians possess enormous potential but lack access to productive opportunities.

TMN advocates:

* Large-scale agricultural empowerment programs.

* Agro-processing hubs.

* Skills acquisition initiatives.

* Entrepreneurship financing.

* Rural economic development projects.

Every young person productively employed is one less person vulnerable to recruitment into criminal activities.

*5. Border Security and National Sovereignty*

Nigeria must strengthen the protection of its borders through:

* Advanced surveillance technology.

* Border monitoring systems.

* Improved immigration controls.

* Regional security cooperation.

* Enhanced maritime and land border security.

National security begins with effective control of national territory.

*6. Justice, Accountability and Victim Support*

Criminality thrives where accountability is weak.

Nigeria must ensure:

* Swift prosecution of terrorism financiers.

* Stronger anti-money laundering enforcement.

* Protection of witnesses.

* Compensation for victims and affected families.

* Rehabilitation support for rescued victims.

Justice must be visible, fair and effective.

*A NATIONAL CALL*

We call upon all levels of government, security institutions, civil society organizations, traditional rulers, faith leaders, labour unions, professional groups and citizens to work together in confronting insecurity.

The safety of Nigerians must remain above politics.

The protection of lives must remain our highest priority.

The future of our children must remain our greatest responsibility.

We therefore demand every lawful and necessary effort toward securing the immediate and safe release of all persons currently held captive by criminal elements anywhere in Nigeria.

We also call for sustained reforms that address not only the symptoms of insecurity, but its root causes.

Nigeria possesses the resources, the institutions, the talent and the people required to overcome these challenges.

What is required is collective resolve, strategic leadership and national unity.

The Movement Nigeria remains committed to working with labour organizations, professional bodies, educational institutions, community leaders and patriotic Nigerians to develop practical policy solutions capable of restoring security, prosperity and hope to our nation.

Through initiatives such as the Labour Institute, LabourDirect.com and other national development platforms, we will continue to contribute ideas, policies and partnerships aimed at building a safer and more productive Nigeria.

Let this candlelight gathering not only honor the victims of insecurity but also renew our collective determination to build a nation where every citizen can live, learn, work and prosper in peace.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Sir Dele Abiola

South-West Coordinator

*For: The Movement Nigeria (TMN)*

WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE: Unveiling of Arc. Peter Agada Presidential Campaign, Labour Institute, LabourDirect.com, TMN Candlelight Vigil for Kidnapped Oyo School Children & Teachers, Bandit Captives in Kwara, Niger State, Borno

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL OF ARC. DR. PETER AGADA

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL

Cyrus Group Place, Plot C22 Cyrus Group Drive, Behind Gilmore Engineering Maityard, Katampe-Dawaki Extension, Abuja.

Phone: 08034633717

Email: pappcnigeria@gmail.com

Website: peteragada2027.ng

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE

Unveiling of Arc. Peter Agada Presidential Campaign, Labour Institute, LabourDirect.com & the Peter Agada-TMN Candlelight Vigil for Kidnapped Oyo School Children & Teachers, Bandit Captives in Kwara, Niger State, Borno

Being Press Statement by Arc. Dr. Peter Agada, 2027 Presidential Hopeful & TMN National Support Network, Delivered Today Monday June 8, 2026 in Abuja FCT

Fellow Nigerians,

Representatives of the national executive council of Young Progressives Party (YPP) present,

Representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Civil Society Organizations present,

Officials of The Movement Nigeria (TMN),

Gentlemen of the Press.

On behalf of the various esteemed interest groups with mutually connected political, union based and civil society initiatives captured in the heading of our conference paper, I warmly welcome you to this very important media conference.

To foster proper understanding of the various bodies described above and the meeting point of their objectives, indulge me to explain the core of each subject matter in as brief yet illuminating depth as possible.

1. The Movement Nigeria (TMN):

TMN is a nationwide congress of patriotic Nigerians, civil society groups and peer leaders from every walk of life. Membership of TMN cuts across tribes, religions, professions and the labour unions of Nigeria.

In many ways, therefore, TMN is a mother canopy which warehouses scores of social-political organizations of like-minded Nigerians, home and abroad.

These broad-based groups spread across entire Nigeria believe in me as a man whose time has come to invest his enormous accomplishments, decisive leadership strength, energies and steel of a youthful paragon into the race for the President of Nigeria; a faith that coincides with my own deep inner conviction a long time ago that I have more than what it takes to fix our country and stun the world with the brand new story of a brand new Nigeria. Today, I feel both honoured and challenged by such depth of trust to justify to our country their immense vote of confidence by vying for the highest political office of our land.

2. Departure from Labour Party

In their faith in me, the TMN network worldwide freely contributed millions of naira to back their conviction. When the party leaders approached me to support the enormous financial cost of its national convention, they emphatically made it clear to me that there was no encumbrance to anyone who wished to contest the presidential ticket of the party. After that clarification, the TMN facilitated my picking the presidential expression of interest and nomination forms for the ticket of the Labour Party. I was subsequently screened by the party for the presidential race on May 6, 2026, precisely eight days after its national convention at Umuahia, Abia state.

I need to emphasize that before the convention, combined with seducing persuasions by the Labour Party's national leadership to the effect that they would support me for the party's presidential ticket, I jointly funded the national convention of the party which held as scheduled at Umuahia, Abia state, on April 28, 2026.

I spent considerable funds to commence building my nationwide presidential campaign structures after a successful screening on May 6, 2026, an exercise which affirmed my impeccable qualifications to run for the highest office in Nigeria under the platform of the Labour Party.

All of these expenses went down only for the Labour Party to suddenly wake up from a memory loss on May 28, 2026, only one day to its presidential primary, to send a letter to me stating that they had disqualified me from the presidential ticket because I was from the Middle Belt of Nigeria. They claimed that the presidential ticket of the party had been zoned to the South, which was of course, a brazen cruel lie. Acknowledging this lie, the party's own screening committee report set up after the Umuahia convention affirmed and advised the leadership of the Labour Party that there is no provision in the party's constitution for zoning.

3. The Journey from Labour Party to YPP

I went into this detail for three reasons. First, it is for my large supporters in the Labour Party nationwide and Nigeria at large to understand why I left the party in search of another political party which reflects my beliefs, principles and commitment to truth and justice. Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to inform you that I have now found all these qualities in the Young Progressives Party. I pray that this will continue to be so in our journey together to the future.

The second reason I have taken time to explain my betrayal and exit from the Labour Party under its present leadership, which is evidently steeped in incredible insincerity, tribal myopia and repression, is this: I need to publicly put on record, without leaving the smallest iota of doubts in the minds of the TMN movement nationwide, that I was transparent and blameless in the temporary loss of their hard-earned financial contributions to my nascent presidential project.

The third reason for this detail is that as a justice and good governance advocacy body, the board of trustees and leadership of TMN nationwide has determined to leave no stone unturned in lawful efforts to recover their collectively contributed funds from the Labour Party. To prove my innocence relating to the missing funds before their eyes and sundry funding support stakeholders, I am constrained to cooperate with TMN and to proceed above suspicion by conceding to their lawful right to interrogate the swindled funds in court. To this end, court proceedings bordering on fraud and obtaining under false pretense has been served today at the instance of the TMN on the Labour Party and the party's felony confederates.

For further clarification which you may need on this, I will leave one of the operational leaders of TMN, who is here with us, to take your questions at the appropriate time during the conference.

4. LabourDirect.com

This is a ready-made, cross-sector digital platform which translates labour ideology to tangible development expectations and policy manifestos to manifestation of concrete, people serving social-economic end goals. This will be achieved by integrating policy, budgeting, and infrastructure planning for all 23 sectors of the Nigerian economy on one map, with one set of governing rules.

For brevity of this paper, I will crave your indulgence to elaborate on this during the question and answer interlude.

5. Labour Institute

The proposed Labour Institute of Nigeria is a non-partisan policy, research and leadership development institution to be established by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC). It is conceived to institutionalize the ideologies of the global labour movement within Nigeria's democratic framework.

The Labour Institute shall provide an ideological baseline similar to "The Republican Institute" of the Republican Party and "The Democratic Institute" of the Democratic Party of the United States of America. The vision is currently in the pipeline for discussions with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its sister labour centre, the Trade Union Congress (TUC). When established, it shall be the unions' ideological substation and finishing house for designing and implementing the multi-sector digital platforms, programmes and policy blueprints of the LabourDirect.com policy curriculum.

Similar to the Labour Institute discourse, I will also crave your indulgence to elaborate on this during your question and answer break.

6. Candlelight Vigil for Kidnapped Oyo School Children & Teachers, Other Victims Throughout Nigeria

It is saddening that since May 15, 2026, 46 Nigerians involving tender school children and their teachers, in front of whom one of them was beheaded in horrendous bestiality, including a 19months old baby, little Christiana Akanbi, have been kidnapped by terrorists.

It is sickening that since then to date these innocent Nigerians have been sleeping in the jungle bush under the rains at night and hoping against hope of rescue during no less frightful excruciating hours at day.

It is necessary to rally our nation together to aggregate much more tangible and sustainable efforts to ensure that these innocent young children and their teachers are safely rescued and re-united unhurt to their suffering families. This should be the case, not only for the Oyo saga but for similar victims of abduction in Niger, Kwara, Borno and everywhere else throughout Nigeria against whom terrorists and bandits have continued to perpetuate this extreme level of human rights abuse. This is why TMN is holding this candlelight vigil in Oyo state this Wednesday June 10, 2026.

Finally, I wish to thank the NLC, TUC, YPP, civil society representatives and other well-meaning Nigerians for their partnership in the solidarity vigil for our abducted children and compatriots.

Thank you.

Long live, The Movement Nigeria (TMN). Long live, Young Nigeria Progressives Party (YPP). Long live, Workers and Labour Unions of Nigeria. Long live, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

ARC. DR. PETER AGADA 2027 

Presidential Hopeful

Young Progressives Party (YPP)