LABOUR PARTY: FLYING ON BORROWED WINGS

Apagun 

A story was once told of a prideful, deceptive and a subtle tortoise who after loosing out in an animal kingdom decided to compete and complete the kingship rites and rituals in the birds kingdom. Some members of his family questioned his affinity with the birds kingdom and the possibilities of ceding out the kingship to him since he cannot fly. His wife and children reminded him that flying across seven rivers in their known world is part of the ceremonial rites. The tortoise assured his family that he had already settled the kingmakers, and telling his wife that he was called to come for the contest by the eagle because he was denied the right to become the king. Ostrich was equally in support because she couldn't fly across the seven rivers, she decided to give out feathers to support the tortoise together with some dissidents birds for him to complete the kingship rites. Despite the fact that the priests and diviners warned these rebellious birds to allow the Peacock chosen by divinity to become the king, they obstinately stood against the warning by the gods that the rats would not squeak like rats, the birds would not chirp like birds and humans will not speak like humans 

On the day of the completion of the rituals, a sacrifice must be carried by the king to be, so the tortoise begged eagle to carry him on her wings with the sacrifice at dawn to the sacred forest to place the sacrifice in front of the gods. On his way back on the wings of the eagle, sighting the town at a distance and the flocks of birds awaiting his arrival in the village square, he thanked the eagle for her support but begged her to let him be on his own as he had already glued the borrowed wings to his arm and legs to proof that he can fly. Eagle warned him against the decision, but before you can say Jack, he jumped from the eagle's back and cracked in pieces in the midst of the awaiting townsmen.

Politics in Ogun State has always been competitive. But right now, the Labour Party in the state is dealing with a distraction that threatens to drown out real work: a parallel faction built not by grassroots structure, but by a group of transactional politicians looking for shortcuts to relevance through the stroke of pen.

The trouble started when some individuals, who played little or no role in building the party from ward to state level, decided to announce a separate "exco." It was not done through congress. It was not recognized by the national constitution of the Labour Party but by some individuals at the national against the will of the people of Ogun State. It was simply declared, with memo and borrowed logos.

That is the problem. You cannot build legitimacy by photocopying it.

*The constitutional exco*  

The state executive Committee led by *Apagun Olaolu Samuel* emerged through the process laid out in the party constitution. The state congress produced officers with mandates from members on the ground. That is how political parties are supposed to function. Not by WhatsApp declarations, not by borrowing halls for parallel meetings.

This exco has been carrying out the basic work: reconciling members while the supposedly national leaders were outrightly kicking against such without first coming to beg for permission on performing our rights and obligations as Chairman, preparing for elections, and engaging communities on Labour Party ideals. It is not perfect. No new structure is. But it has the one thing the other group does not: a paper trail rooted in the party’s own rules and constitution 

*Why the parallel group exists*  

The second group is not an ideological split. It is a transactional arrangement. In Nigerian politics, we have seen this pattern before. When an election cycle approaches, some actors who could not win internal elections try to create a second center of power. The goal is not to grow the party. The goal is to negotiate. To get recognition. To sell access. To fly on wings that do not belong to them.

Borrowed wings cannot sustain flight. They look good in photos, but they have no roots in the wards, no structure in the LGAs, and no accountability to the members who knocked on doors in 2023. 

*The cost to Ogun Labour Party*  

1. *Confusion*: New members do not know which leadership to approach. That slows down mobilization.

2. *Resources wasted*: Time and money that should go into voter education and candidate grooming are spent fighting for letterheads.

3. *Credibility damaged*: Voters are watching. When a party cannot manage its own house, it becomes hard to ask the public to trust it with the state.

An oral history in the Ifa verses stated _" . . . lo difa fún Ológbò jigolo baba awo, nigba to nṣawo ròde Oyo, won ni eyin agba, é má j'obi to gbo, eyin agba, é má fẹ aya meji ni rogbarogba"_ literally meaning 'as Ologbo Jigolo was divinely instructed in those days, warning that the elders must not be attracted by the matured cola nuts, neither should they be engaged to two wives simultaneously. The instructions are simple, the elders should not take bribe neither should they double date.

*The way forward*  

Parties grow through discipline, not drama. The national leadership of the Labour Party must do three things quickly:

- *Affirm the constitutional exco*: Put it in writing. Circulate it to INEC, to stakeholders, and to the public in Ogun State. Ambiguity is what transactional politicians thrive on.

- *Sanction impersonation*: Anyone parading as an officer outside the constitutional process should be shown the door. Politics cannot reward forgery.

- *Open the door for real reconciliation*: Not for power-sharing with a parallel group, but for members who were genuinely aggrieved during congresses to be heard within the structure led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel.

Ogun Labour Party has a real opportunity. The appetite for alternatives is there. Young voters, artisans, teachers, and traders are looking for a party that speaks to competence and accountability. They will not wait while a few individuals argue over borrowed titles.

You do not build a movement by creating two heads. You build it by strengthening the one head that the constitution recognizes, and then making it work.

Borrowed wings might get you a few meters off the ground. But to fly in 2027, Ogun Labour Party needs its own wings. And right now, those wings are with the legally and constitutionally emerged state exco led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel.

© *Apagun Olaolu Samuel*

Chairman, 

Labour Party Ogun State

egberunsaamu2206@gmail.com

OGUN STATE LABOUR PARTY: RE: REBUTTAL OF THE ILLEGITIMATE STATEMENT BY ALHAJI IBRAHIM ONABIYI – SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT ON MY STATUS AND THE ILLEGALITY OF THEIR PARALLEL STRUCTURE

 PRESS STATEMENT BY THE OGUN STATE PUBLICITY SECRETARY OF THE LABOUR PARTY

(APAGUN OLAOLU SAMUEL BABATUNDE-LED STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE)

Date: July 17, 2026

RE: REBUTTAL OF THE ILLEGITIMATE STATEMENT BY ALHAJI IBRAHIM ONABIYI – SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT ON MY STATUS AND THE ILLEGALITY OF THEIR PARALLEL STRUCTURE

Kika

Our attention has been drawn to the desperate and misleading press statement issued on July 16, 2026, by one Alhaji Ibrahim Onabiyi, who parades himself as Labour Party Chairman of Ogun State through a purely illegal and unconstitutional process. In that statement, they made several false claims, including the allegation that I, Hon. Kika Glasgow, am a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) and therefore cannot serve as the Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party.

We categorically state that while I did resign from the Labour Party at a point and joined the NDC, I have since withdrawn my resignation, returned to the Labour Party, and have been fully reinstated as the duly elected Publicity Secretary of the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee. I am no longer a member of the NDC – I am a bona fide, card-carrying member of the Labour Party. The opponents are clutching at a past event that has been rectified, in a vain attempt to distract from their own constitutional violations.

This statement serves to:

1. Set the records straight on my current status.

2. Expose the illegality of the so-called "harmonisation" that produced the Onabiyi faction.

3. Reiterate the supremacy of the Labour Party Constitution and the rule of law.

FACTS OF THE MATTER – MY STATUS CLARIFIED

1. I was duly elected as State Publicity Secretary at the authentic State Congress of the Labour Party in Ogun State held on April 25, 2026, where Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde emerged as the valid State Chairman.

2. I later submitted a resignation letter and joined the NDC for personal reasons.

3. However, I withdrew that resignation and officially returned to the Labour Party. Following due process, I was reinstated as the State Publicity Secretary of the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Executive Committee.

4. As of today, I am not a member of the NDC. I am a loyal and active member of the Labour Party, holding a validly elected position.

5. The allegation that I am currently a member of another party is false – it is a distortion of a past event that has been fully resolved.

The opponents  are resorting to cheap blackmail and fabrication to undermine our legitimate leadership.

THE SO-CALLED "HARMONISATION" – A KANGAROO EXERCISE

Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, the National Deputy Chairman (South), convened what she deceitfully called a "harmonisation meeting" only after she realised that Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde had won the state congress fair and square.

This so-called harmonisation:

· Was never a congress – it was a mere gathering of a few handpicked individuals.

· Had no constitutional basis – the Labour Party Constitution does not recognise "harmonisation" as a substitute for a properly conducted State Congress.

· Was not advertised to all party members.

· Was not monitored by INEC.

· Produced a parallel executive that has no mandate from the Ogun State party members.

The truth is simple: Mrs. Oriola Nike Job did not like the outcome of the democratic process, so she decided to impose her preferred candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Onabiyi, through the backdoor. This is a flagrant abuse of office and a direct assault on internal democracy.

THE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION – WHY THEIR STRUCTURE IS NULL AND VOID

1. Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) mandates that political parties shall conduct periodic elections for their executive committees on a democratic basis. The "harmonisation" exercise was not democratic – it was an imposition.

2. The Labour Party Constitution vests the authority to organise State Congresses in the duly elected State Executive Committees. No National Officer, including the National Deputy Chairman (South), has the power to bypass the State Executive and impose a parallel structure.

3. INEC's own portal still recognises Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as the State Chairman of the Labour Party in Ogun State. This is incontrovertible evidence that the Commission acknowledges our legitimacy and rejects the illegal parallel structure.

4. Judicial precedents – In the recent ADC case, the Court of Appeal affirmed that state congresses conducted in violation of party constitution and court orders are invalid, and that the responsibility for organising congresses rests with State Executives, not national leadership. The court also barred INEC from recognising such illegal congresses. Similarly, the Supreme Court in the PDP Ibadan Convention case nullified a convention held in violation of a court order, holding that such actions amount to making a mockery of the judiciary.

By all legal standards, the Onabiyi-led parallel structure is a nullity.

REBUTTAL OF SPECIFIC FALSE CLAIMS

False Claim Truth

"Glasgow Kika is a member of NDC and cannot be Publicity Secretary." I resigned and joined NDC temporarily, but I withdrew my resignation, returned to LP, and was reinstated. I am not currently a member of NDC.

"The harmonisation produced a legitimate State Executive." The harmonisation was an illegal imposition, not a congress. It violated the Party Constitution and INEC guidelines.

"Apagun Olaolu has no authority to suspend officials." That is correct – but we are not the ones suspending anyone. They are the ones who have no authority to even exist as an executive.

"INEC should disregard Apagun Olaolu." INEC's portal still recognises Apagun Olaolu as Chairman – the Commission knows the truth.

OUR DEMANDS AND WARNING

TO THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF THE LABOUR PARTY AND MRS. ORIOLA NIKE JOB:

We demand that you:

1. Immediately withdraw recognition from the illegal Onabiyi parallel structure.

2. Publicly affirm Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as the authentic State Chairman of Ogun State.

3. Cease all interference in the affairs of the Ogun State chapter.

4. Direct INEC to release the access code to our legitimate State Executive to upload our candidates.

We put you on NOTICE that if these demands are not met within 7 days, we shall proceed to court.

TO ALHAJI IBRAHIM ONABIYI AND HIS COHORTS:

Your illegal occupation of party structures and your baseless allegations against me will not stand. You are merely trying to divert attention from your own constitutional violations.

We have reported your criminal impersonation and trespass to law enforcement agencies.

TO THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC):

We call on you to:

1. Uphold the Electoral Act and your own guidelines – do not recognise any candidate from the illegal parallel primaries.

2. Immediately release the access code to Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde, the recognised State Chairman on your portal.

3. Note that your refusal to release the code is creating an unnecessary crisis and may expose you to litigation.

We are prepared to go to court.

CONCLUSION

The Labour Party belongs to its members, not to any individual. The will of the Ogun State party members, as expressed in the April 25, 2026 State Congress, must be respected.

Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde is the valid State Chairman.

I, Hon. Kika Glasgow, am the valid State Publicity Secretary – currently and lawfully a member of the Labour Party.

The Onabiyi parallel structure is a nullity and should be disregarded by all.

We call on all party members, the media, and the general public to see through the desperate smokescreen of our opponents. The rule of law and internal democracy must prevail.

Signed:

Hon. Kika Glasgow

State Publicity Secretary,

Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee,

Labour Party

Date: July 17, 2026

Cc:

1. The National Chairman, Labour Party

2. The National Secretary, Labour Party

3. The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

4. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ogun State

5. The Nigeria Police Force

6. The Department of State Services (DSS)

7. All Media Houses

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE OGUN STATE PUBLICITY: RE: URGENT CALL FOR RESPECT FOR THE LABOUR PARTY CONSTITUTION, THE ELECTORAL ACT, AND SUBSISTING COURT ORDERS – OGUN STATE LABOUR PARTY CRISIS

Date: July 15, 2026

INTRODUCTION

The attention of the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee of the Labour Party has been drawn to the ongoing attempts by certain elements within the National Leadership of our great Party to subvert the will of Ogun State party members, undermine the Labour Party Constitution, and violate established electoral laws.

We write to set the records straight and to put the National Leadership of the Labour Party, particularly the National Deputy Chairman (South), Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on notice regarding the unfolding crisis in Ogun State.

FACTS OF THE MATTER

Apagun 

1. The Ogun State Labour Party conducted its duly constituted State Congress, wherein Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde emerged as the authentic State Chairman of the Party in Ogun State.

2. The National Deputy Chairman (South), Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, for reasons best known to her, did not favour the emergence of Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as State Chairman.

3. Acting in what appears to be a flagrant abuse of office and in total disregard for the Party’s constitution, Mrs. Oriola Nike Job colluded with some elements at the National Secretariat to conjure an entirely different list of persons who never participated in the legitimate Ogun State Congress. This parallel list was presented as the Ogun State Executive Committee of the Labour Party, with one Alhaji Ibrahim Onabiyi paraded as State Chairman.

4. Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, acting under a transmitted memo from the national to INEC went further to organise a parallel State Primary Election, bypassing the state structure, conducted simultaneously with the legitimate primaries organized by the authentic State Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde.

5. As we speak, the recognised State Chairman on the INEC portal remains Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde — a clear indication that INEC is aware of the illegitimacy of the parallel structure imposed by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job.

Nike Oriola

6. INEC has thus far refused to upload the names of the so-called candidates of the parallel faction. This is likely due to the Commission's awareness of the legal and constitutional infirmities surrounding that exercise, and the imminent threat of litigation.

7. However, INEC has also refused to release the access code to the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee to enable us to upload the names of our candidates who validly emerged from the legitimate State Primaries conducted by the authentic State Chairman.

THE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION

1. The Labour Party Constitution is Supreme:

The Labour Party Constitution vests the authority to organise and conduct State Congresses and Primaries in the duly elected State Executive Committees. No National Officer, including the National Deputy Chairman (South), has the constitutional power to bypass the legitimate State Executive Committee and impose a parallel structure. Any action to the contrary is unconstitutional, null, and void.

2. Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended):

Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution mandates that political parties shall conduct periodic elections for their principal officers and members of executive committees on a democratic basis at intervals not exceeding four years. The imposition of a parallel State Executive Committee by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, without any democratic process, is a gross violation of this constitutional provision.

3. The Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and INEC Guidelines:

INEC is empowered by law to ensure that political parties observe the practices of internal democracy, including the fair and transparent conduct of party congresses and primaries. The Commission is also mandated to monitor party primaries and ensure compliance with the Electoral Act and its own guidelines. INEC cannot, and must not, recognise or give effect to any primary election that was not conducted in line with the Party's constitution and the Electoral Act.

4. Judicial Precedents on Disobedience to Court Orders and Unconstitutional Party Actions:

The judiciary has consistently held that political parties must strictly comply with constitutional provisions, electoral regulations, and valid court orders in conducting their internal affairs. The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have repeatedly nullified party congresses and conventions conducted in violation of subsisting court orders and party constitutions.

In the recent case of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Court of Appeal, in a split 2-1 majority decision, affirmed that state congresses conducted by a caretaker committee in violation of a subsisting court order were invalid. The Court held that the responsibility for organising state congresses rests with duly elected State Executive Committees, not with the national leadership. The Court further barred INEC from recognising the outcome of such congresses.

Similarly, in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ibadan Convention case, the Supreme Court nullified the entire National Convention because it was conducted in violation of a subsisting court order. The apex court held that proceeding with a convention despite valid restraining orders amounted to making “a mockery of the majesty of the judiciary” and an affront to the authority of the courts.

These judicial pronouncements are clear and binding. Any party official who flouts the Party's constitution or valid court orders does so at their own peril.

OUR DEMANDS AND WARNING

TO THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF THE LABOUR PARTY AND MRS. ORIOLA NIKE JOB:

We demand that the National Leadership of the Labour Party immediately:

1. Cease and desist from all attempts to impose a parallel State Executive Committee or parallel candidates on Ogun State.

2. Publicly recognise Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as the duly elected and authentic State Chairman of the Labour Party in Ogun State.

3. Dissociate the Party from the illegal parallel primary conducted by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job and her cohorts.

4. Direct all Party officials, including Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, to respect the Labour Party Constitution and the will of Ogun State party members.

We put the National Leadership and Mrs. Oriola Nike Job on NOTICE that any further attempt to undermine the legitimate State Executive Committee and impose candidates not democratically elected will be met with immediate legal action. We will not hesitate to approach the courts to seek redress, including but not limited to:

· An order of court declaring the parallel State Executive Committee and the parallel primaries null and void.

· An order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Leadership and Mrs. Oriola Nike Job from interfering with the affairs of the Ogun State Labour Party.

· An order directing INEC to recognise only the candidates validly emerged from the primaries conducted by the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee.

· Claims for damages against all those involved in this illegality.

TO THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC):

We call on INEC to:

1. Uphold the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and its own Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.

2. Refrain from recognising or giving any effect to the parallel primaries and parallel candidates imposed by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job and her co-travellers.

3. Immediately release the access code to the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee to enable us to upload the names of our candidates who validly emerged from the legitimate State Primaries conducted by the authentic State Chairman.

4. Note that INEC's current position of refusing to release the access code to the legitimate State Chairman while also refusing to recognise the parallel faction is untenable and creates an unnecessary crisis.

We put INEC on NOTICE that we are prepared to approach the courts to compel the Commission to perform its statutory duties in accordance with the law. We will seek:

· An order of mandamus compelling INEC to release the access code to the authentic State Chairman of the Labour Party in Ogun State.

· An order restraining INEC from recognising or dealing with any candidate not validly emerged from the primaries conducted by the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee.

CONCLUSION

Kika

The Labour Party is a party built on the principles of internal democracy, rule of law, and respect for constitutionalism. We will not allow any individual, no matter how highly placed, to subvert these principles for selfish interests.

We call on all well-meaning members of the Labour Party in Ogun State and across Nigeria to remain calm and law-abiding. We assure you that we are committed to protecting the integrity of our Party and the will of our members.

The Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee remains the only legitimate leadership of the Labour Party in Ogun State. We will not be intimidated, and we will not surrender our mandate to any cabal of usurpers.

The rule of law must prevail. Internal democracy must be respected. The will of Ogun State party members must not be subverted.

Signed:

Hon.Kika Glasgow 

State Publicity Secretary,

Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee,

Labour Party

Date: July 15, 2026

Cc:

1. The National Chairman, Labour Party

2. The National Secretary, Labour Party

3. The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

4. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ogun State

5. The Nigeria Police Force

6. The Department of State Services (DSS)

7. All Media Houses

OGUN LABOUR PARTY SUSPENDS STATE SECRETARY, FOUR OTHERS INDEFINITELY OVER ALLEGED ANTI-PARTY CONDUCT

Party Cites Criminal Conspiracy, Attempted Usurpation Of State Structure

By Tolulope Ayandare

ABEOKUTA — The Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party has announced the indefinite suspension of its State Secretary and four other executive members over allegations of anti-party activities, criminal conspiracy, and attempted usurpation of the party structure.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the State Executive Committee held in Abeokuta on July 10, according to a communique issued and signed by the State Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel and the new acting State Secretary Engr. Ibiade Abass

In the statement made available to newsmen on 15th of July, 2026, the party accused the suspended officials of engaging in conduct inimical to the unity, discipline, and electoral objectives of the Labour Party in the state.

The affected members, Dr. Tosin Ogunbamiro (Secretary), Comr. Olanrewaju Babatunde Folarin (Deputy Chairman) Princess Adebisi Adebayo (Deputy Woman Leader) Pastor Olusola Kolawole (Deputy Chairman) and Mr. Adebayo Adeleke (Auditor),  were specifically cited for three principal offences: anti-party activities, criminal conspiracy, and attempts to unlawfully take over the organs and decision-making processes of the party at the state level while the former scribe added impersonation to his offences.

"The State Executive Committee, after careful deliberation on petitions and evidence presented before it, resolved to place the State Secretary and four other members on indefinite suspension with immediate effect," the communique stated.

The party further directed that the suspended officials desist forthwith from parading themselves as representatives or officers of the Labour Party in Ogun State pending the conclusion of investigations by a disciplinary committee to be constituted by the state leadership.

It added that the party remains committed to upholding due process, internal democracy, and the rule of law, stressing that no member, irrespective of position, is above the constitution of the party.

The leadership also called on party members, stakeholders, and members of the public to disregard any statement, directive, or action emanating from the suspended persons in the name of the Ogun State Labour Party.

The development is the latest in a series of internal disputes within the Ogun chapter of the Labour Party relating to party leadership, attempted bypass of constitutionally recognized state Working Committee in the process of candidates primary election, through the national leadership.

As at press time, efforts to obtain reactions from the suspended State Secretary, Dr. Tosin Ogunbamiro impersonated Ogunbanwo on the forged list of parallel excos and the other affected officers proved abortive.

The Labour Party currently is reorganizing ahead of the 2027 general elections" as many believed the party is in the safe hands of Apagun and other duly elected officers through state Congress.

It should be on records to that those in the national working committee of the Labour Party are not saints as regards the crisis rocking the majority of different state chapters of the party in the country. They are the architects of all the problems .Many observers considered the position of the national working committee to jetitioned and rejected those Congress Elected officers of the party at the state levels as a deliberate attempt by the Senator Nenadi Esther Usman led NWC to wreck the party of any remaining glory.

The fielding  of an administrative Secretary as it's presidential candidate is confirmation of Tinubu's pacts with Nenadi and Alex Otto leadership. 

The NLC/TUC and other concerned stakeholders will still need another rescue marathon race to reposition the party after the 2027 general elections.

THE CONSPIRACY, THE INTRICACY AND THE DIPLOMACY OF THE ENRAGED POLITICAL JOBBERS AGAINST APAGUN OLAOLU SAMUEL

Apagun 

Politics in Nigeria has always been a theater of alliances, betrayals, intrigues, suspense and calculated moves. The current pushback against Apagun Olaolu Samuel fits that pattern, but with a sharper edge. What is playing out is less about ideology and more about control, access, and who gets to sit at the table.

Late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, the assumed creator of Fuji music once sang in one of his records portraying a cart pusher after running through a bend claiming to have sped 140km per hour, conclusively singing if a cart pusher can speed at that rate, what speed would driver of Rolls-Royce or Mercedes-Benz acclaimed. Subsequently, he noted that if the deceived do not know, the deceiver will definitely know he is deceiving the ignorants.

The Ogun State Labour Party conspiracy theory had long been penned immediately after the fallout of the alliance windfall in 2023, some beneficiaries after the unexpected financial benefits, attracted from the need to get more, formed a caucus around Mr. Kehinde Sogunle, the gubernatorial aspirant who sold out to PDP, to defend him at all cost, for them to be recognized and probably be recommended by him for appointments if peradventure Chief Ladi Adebutu, the candidate of PDP win the pending governorship case, since he was the sole negotiator with Ladi Adebutu and the already penned down Chief of Staff to be. Knowing that position is of high influence, some political jobbers swirled around him for patronage while some of us were bent on rebuilding Labour Party for better performance come this 2027 which ultimately set wedge in-between us.

*1. The Conspiracy: What the Jobbers Are Allegedly Doing*

"Political jobbers" in this context refers to operatives whose influence depends on patronage, contracts, and appointments rather than an elected mandate. 

The narrative circulating is that a loose coalition of these jobbers became "enraged" after Apagun Olaolu Samuel and his team of men and women who believed in political renaissance began to disrupt their established channels of influence. The alleged moves include:

- *Media narratives*: Coordinated press releases and social media smear campaigns aimed at framing Samuel as an unrepentant dissident who does not "understand how things are done."

- *Gatekeeping*: Blocking access to party structures, transactional politics, and funding lines that traditionally flow through jobber networks.

- *Delegitimization*: Questioning his loyalty, legality,  pedigree, and motives within party caucuses and stakeholder meetings.

The goal, according to sources close to the situation, is not outright removal but political containment. Make him a second class Chairman in order to silence him perpetually while he is being understudy by their men.

*2. The Intricacies: Why This Fight Is Not Straightforward*

This is not just Apagun vs. "the system." The intricacies make it messy:

- *Factions within factions*: Not all jobbers are aligned. Some see Samuel as a threat. Others see him as a potential new patron that is trying to cut a nitch for himself. That split creates double games and leaks.

- *Grassroots vs. Establishment*: Samuel appears to draw support from a base that is tired of recycled names. The jobbers rely on power brokers watching and walking the corridors of power in Abuja while Apagun rely solely on the structures and legitimate Congress as witness by INEC and security agencies. That clash of legitimacy vs. machinery is where most of the tension lives.

- *Timing*: In Nigerian politics, these battles intensify ahead of appointments, primaries, or Congress cycles. The timing of the pushback suggests someone feels their access is about to shrink.

- *Narrative warfare*: Both sides are fighting for the story. One side sells "reform and discipline." The other sells "experience and stability." Voters and party elders are the real audience.

*3. The Diplomacy: How It Is Being Managed*

Open war is bad for business. So the response has been diplomatic, even while the knives are out.

- *Elders and Intermediaries*: Senior party leaders are reportedly stepping in to broker truces. The language is always "unity" and "party supremacy," but the subtext is power sharing.

- *Backchannel talks*: Meetings in Abuja, Abeokuta, and Ijebu-ode are being used to test offers while financial influence are the usual bargaining chips.

- *Public restraint*: Despite the heat online, official statements from Samuel's camp have stayed measured. That is strategic. It keeps him looking like the calm one, while forcing the jobbers to overreach.

- *Coalition building*: Diplomacy here also means finding new allies.  Youth groups, professional bodies, and even rival jobbers are being courted to widen Samuel's base beyond the current fight.

*4. What This Means Going Forward*

Three scenarios are likely:

1. *Accommodation*: The jobbers without negotiation placed Samuel in their official list for acceptability, but with limits on his influence. This is the most common Nigerian political ending.

2. *Escalation*: If no deal is reached, expect more leaks, petitions, and primary challenges designed to exhaust him. But his consistency and resilience will see him through as the legitimate Chairman of the Labour Party Ogun State or otherwise another round of legal battles will rock the boat of the party which is not in the best interest of anyone.

3. *Breakthrough*: If Samuel sustains grassroots support and attracts independent funding, he could bypass the jobber structure entirely.

The real test will be endurance. Conspiracies burn out. Intricacies get exposed. Diplomacy only works if both sides see more to gain from peace than from war.

*Bottom line*: This is not just about one man. It is about how power is distributed when an outsider refuses to play by old rules. The enraged jobbers are defending a system. Apagun Olaolu Samuel is testing whether that system can still say no.

© Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

Chairman,

Labour Party, Ogun State

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

The GRAVITY, the CAVITY, and the CAPTIVITY OF THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL SPACE

As the Nigerian political space is being unnecessarily and increasingly overheated, political timetable compressed by INEC, electoral guidelines being changed abruptly amidst the game, and fulfillment of all electoral activities being swiftly runned by political parties in the wrong directions as petitions, rejoinders, counter petitions and court papers are flying here and there bore testimony to lack of adequate preparation and information dissemination from the electoral body and political parties. Several factions are shooting out dailies from political parties as the incumbent are not left out as they tarried long enough in some states awaiting the ruling party in such a state to cave in to the official party of the incumbent government.

Nigerian politics no longer lives only in Abuja conference rooms. It lives on X, in Nollywood skits, in Afrobeats lyrics, in WhatsApp broadcast lists. It pulls like a magnet, echoes like an empty hall, and traps like a cage. Gravity, cavity, captivity. Three forces shaping every election, protest, and debate. From 2023 till now, Nigerian politics moved from handshake deals at the grassroots and communities to hashtag wars, the space became a stadium, gravity pulls everyone in through social media, cavity left us shouting in the void, captivity kept the doors locked and the last four years has proven that.

*The Gravity: Why does everyone get pulled in*  

Gravity is mass and pull/attention, Nigerian politics has both now in record amount, though it is likely to decline as some of first timers weakling politicians and social media influencers are no longer operating at the level they did in 2023, political godfather's and electoral management officers taught them lessons they will not forget so soon.

1. Culture and Ethnicity is the campaign*: Prevalent ethnicity turn by turn and the new cultural trend of Influencers forming public opinion is generating more of the gravitational force than reasonable blueprint of redemption for Nigeria. From Fela’s yabis to Burna’s "Monsters You Made", music does what manifestos can’t. A single tweet from Wizkid or Davido shifts more votes than a party rally in some states. "Soro Soke" from 2020 EndSARS became the campaign language in 2023. Peter Obi’s movement was powered less by party structure and more by Afrobeats fans, skit makers, Twitter spaces. Davido, Falz, Aisha Yesufu became de facto campaign managers. For the first time, a candidate’s Spotify playlist mattered as much as his party manifesto.  

2. Youth are the mass: 70% of Nigerians are under 35.. That’s not just a demographic. It’s a gravitational field. "Obidients", "Soro Soke", "No gree for anybody" Apagunmanians, in the Ogun State Labour Party fast spreading across the southwest— these weren’t party slogans. They were cultural movements that dragged politics into everyday talk. They were not bought, or sought, they were pulled by the force of gravity, they organically sprouted as a movement beyond party boundaries to fill in the political cavity..

INEC said over 37m voters collected PVCs before 2023, and most were 18-34. That’s gravity. TikTok explainers on BVAS got more views than NTA debates. In 2027, that mass is older, more cynical, and already organizing on WhatsApp communities and X Spaces before parties even pick candidates.  

3. Outrage is the orbit: Bad news travels faster than policy. One viral video of police brutality or failed infrastructure pulls more attention than a 50-page budget. Once you’re in orbit, silence feels like betrayal. My daughter engaged me on social media visibility and wishes someone will drag her, particularly someone whose followers runs to millions, which will advertently rubbed on her media visibility, but having a media visibility without a matching ground structure sometimes make a political party fizzle out in the shortest period of time. Imagine the "Ikeja City Mall protest", "Obidients" Twitter trends, even APC's "Emilokan clips" ---these pulled more national conversation than traditional rallies. If it didn't trend, it didn't exist. Contents creators and campaign strategists are already being engaged rather than the ward coordinators for 2027 elections .

The Cavity: The empty space inside the noise*  

Cavity is the hollow part between sound and substance, the 2023's noise and the 2027's risk.

2023 has already exposed the influence of the social media in shaping public opinion, but that of 2027 will surely deepen it. For all the noise, the center is often empty.  

1. Sound over substance: We debate vibes, not data. "He’s young" vs "He’s experienced" replaces "Here’s his plan for power". Hashtags trend for 48 hours, then vanish. We spent months arguing BVAS, IReV, "upload issues". Huge noise, but little post-election deep-dive on electoral reform from citizens. The trend died after the Supreme Court judgment. Sound came, substance left.  

2. Performance over policy: Politicians now campaign like influencers. Photo ops with less town halls meeting and engagement with electorates at the grassroots. Dance videos greater debt profiles. The stage is full, but the script is thin. Slogans beat policies: "Renewed Hope", "Take Back Nigeria", "Emilokan". Catchy, yes. But ask 10 voters to explain the actual policy difference on power or FX and the room goes quiet. 2027 is already shaping up with early slogans before white papers.  

3. Amnesia over accountability: Each scandal resets the conversation. We remember the outrage, forget the follow-up. The space echoes, but nothing solid stays inside.Lekki tollgate, cash scarcity protests, subsidy removal pain. Each dominated feeds for days, then vanished when the next viral video dropped. No sustained pressure, no scorecards. The hall echoes, but nothing sticks to the walls

 

The Captivity: How the game keeps us locked?

Captivity is the cage both leaders and citizens built.  

1. Party structures: Godfather politics, delegate buying, zoning formulas. New voices enter, but the rules don’t change, hopes are raised when new leaders are being ushered in, but before you blink your eyes twice, you realize that a well known devil is better than an imaginary angel. You can shout, but you still play by their playbook. Even shouting is an offense, and if you fail to shout, how will you be heard?. In order for them to secure their offices, they replaced a lawful and legally backed state Congresses up to twenty one state in the case of my political party with a stroke of pen in a lofty office in Abuja against the will of the people who lined up under a scorching sun to vote whom the knew, want and believed in 

2. Clout incentives: For citizens, speaking up brings likes but also risk. Cancel culture, EFCC threats, "they will come for you". So we perform activism instead of organizing it.  

3. Fear as bars: Fear of the past. Fear of "the other tribe". Fear of wasting your vote. That fear keeps voters choosing "lesser evil" instead of "better idea". Everyone knows the cage exists. Few test the lock.

Can we break the pattern?

Gravity won’t disappear. Culture will always pull people into politics, and that’s good. But a space can’t survive on gravity alone. The cavity needs filling: with policy literacy, with local organizing, with attention spans longer than a trend. The captivity needs testing: by new candidates, by issue-based voting, by citizens who move from tweets to wards.

Nigerian politics is loud, magnetic, and stuck. The question isn’t whether we feel the pull. It’s whether we’ll fill the hollow, and find the key. 2023 gave us the loudest political pop space Nigeria has ever seen, 2027 will decide if we use that noise to build something solid, or just turn the volume up again. 

*Apagun Olaolu Samuel*

Chairman 

Labour Party, Ogun State

STOP THE CIRCULATION OF THE MANIPULATED SUCCESSFUL CONGRESS LIST: AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR PARTY OGUN STATE CONGRESS CRIES OUT

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA -- The Labour Party, Ogun State Secretariat, wishes to set the record straight regarding the successful Congress held at the Ogun State Labour Party Secretariat on April 25th, 2026.

It has come to our attention that an unauthorized and substituted list containing erroneous names is currently being circulated to the public and media. This act is false, misleading, and intended to cause confusion within the party and among stakeholders.

For clarity and official record, the authentic and duly elected officers of the Congress are:

Chairman: Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Secretary: Tosin Ogunbamiro

Any other names being paraded as Chairman and Secretary of the April 25th Congress are fake, null, and void. They do not represent the will of the delegates nor the outcome of the congress.

We view this deliberate act of substitution as a criminal case of *conspiracy, forgery, and perjury*. The perpetrators of this dastardly act will be made to face the full weight of the law. Legal action will commence and the matter is already before the legal team.

The Labour Party remains committed to due process, transparency, and the rule of law. We urge party members, the media, and the general public to disregard the list as it was doctored to satisfy the convenience of few against the results of the Congress as monitored and observed by the INEC, Police and the DSS.

Signed,  

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

*Ogun State Labour Party Secretariat*

Architect Dr Peter Agada on the Labour Institute of Nigeria

DR PETER AGADA 

An Institute for the Propagation and Development of the True Policies and Ideology of the Labour Party as It Currently Runs World Over_

1. MANDATE & VISION

The Labour Institute of Nigeria is established as a non-partisan policy, research, and leadership development institution dedicated to institutionalizing the core ideologies of the global labour movement within Nigeria’s democratic framework.

Modeled after the intellectual architecture that sustains Labour Parties in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other established democracies, the Institute’s mandate is to move labour politics beyond electoral cycles into permanent systems of governance, policy design, and social contract renewal.

2. CORE FUNCTIONS

The Institute operates through four pillars, drawing direct parallels with UK Labour’s ecosystem:

Pillar Function UK Equivalent

Policy Development Unit; Researches and drafts legislation on wages, decent work, social protection, industrial policy, and public services. Converts labour congress resolutions into actionable government blueprints. Labour Party Policy Forum + Resolution Foundation

Ideology & Political Education;  Develops curriculum and training for aspirants, elected officials, and union leaders on social democracy, collective bargaining, and wealth redistribution. Codifies the Nigerian Labour Charter. The Fabian Society + Socialist Educational Association

**Systems & Governance Lab; Designs internal party systems for candidate selection, ward administration, and digital democracy. Ensures transparency, anti-corruption, and zoning compliance with constitutional law. Labour Party NEC + Constitutional Arrangements Committee

International Labour Bureau** Interfaces with ILO, TUC UK, ITUC, and sister Labour Parties to domesticate global best practices on just transition, gig economy, and worker ownership. Labour International + Labour Party International Office

3. HOW IT DIFFERS FROM A REGULAR POLITICAL PARTY

A political party contests elections. The Labour Institute builds the intellectual and institutional scaffolding that makes labour governments possible and successful.

1. Policy Continuity: While party leadership may change, the Institute maintains a 20-year National Labour Development Plan covering health, education, housing, and industrialization.

2. Leadership Pipeline: Through the _LabourDirect Fellowship_, it trains 8,809 ward coordinators annually in budget analysis, community organizing, and parliamentary procedure.

3. Evidence-Based Politics: Publishes the _Annual State of Nigerian Labour Report_ using NBS, ILO, and NLC data to set national discourse, similar to the UK’s _Institute for Public Policy Research_.

4. Ideological Custodianship: Prevents policy drift by maintaining the _Labour Red Book_ — a codified set of non-negotiable principles on privatization, minimum wage, and public ownership, akin to Clause IV of the UK Labour Party Constitution.

4. THE UK MODEL: PRECEDENT FOR NIGERIA

In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party’s durability rests not just on unions, but on institutions like:

1. The Fabian Society : Drafted the original welfare state proposals that became the NHS and council housing.

2. The TUC Economics Department: Provides shadow cabinets with costed manifesto alternatives each election cycle.

3. Labour Together & Policy Network: Think tanks that stress-test policies for electability and fiscal credibility.[1884]

The Labour Institute of Nigeria adapts this tripartite model: Movement + Research + Governance. It ensures that when labour candidates win, they inherit tested systems, not empty manifestoes.

5. CURRENT PROGRAMMES 

a. #LabourDirect Platform: Digital ward congress system with 12,047 verified member endorsements, ensuring bottom-up candidate legitimacy.

b. Local Government Charter: Standardized service delivery benchmarks for all LIN-elected LGA Chairmen on primary healthcare, schools, and market infrastructure.

c. Just Transition Commission: Designing Nigeria’s framework for oil-sector decarbonization without mass job losses, in partnership with NUPENG and PENGASSAN.[2026]

6. RELATIONSHIP WITH ORGANIZED LABOUR

The Institute is accountable to the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress through an annual _Labour Policy Conference_. NLC and TUC occupy 40% of Board seats, ensuring that policy originates from workers, not consultants.

Conclusion

The Labour Institute of Nigeria exists to answer one question: _What happens the day after a labour candidate wins?_ By building systems, training leaders, and codifying policy, it ensures that labour ideology translates into schools built, wages paid, and industries revived. It is the bridge between protest and governance.

LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENT AS OGUN LABOUR PARTY CLOSE RANKS TO PRESENT UNIFIED CANDIDATES

Mojisola O. Àjàyí

ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE — In a show of political unity, the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party closed ranks in the late hours of April 30th 2026, to present a joint consensus slate after marathon negotiations that stretched through the night of April 30th from 3:00 pm in the evening.

The protracted, energy-sapping meeting held in Abeokuta saw the two major divides within the party set aside differences to forge a single front ahead of this election cycle. 

After hours of consultations, the party announced Mrs Mojisola O. Àjàyí as its consensus governorship candidate. Other key positions on the ticket were also filled through the same consensus agreement, though the party said full details of the slate would be released after official documentation is perfected..

Party leaders described the outcome as a “landmark achievement” for the Labour Party in Ogun, noting that the decision to present unified candidates was reached after protracted, energy sapping long hours of meeting that lasted till late night. 

“This is what democracy looks like when interests are subordinated to the collective good,” a senior party chieftain said. “We went in as factions, we came out as one family with Mrs Mojisola O. Àjàyí leading the charge.”

Political observers say the unified presentation removes a major source of tension within the Ogun Labour Party and positions the party to campaign with one voice. The consensus arrangement is expected to strengthen the party’s structure across the state’s 20 local government areas while they synergize to strategies and develop an action plan to kick out the incumbent political party out of governance.

Mrs Àjàyí, a grassroots mobilizer, addressed the press after  Apagun Olaolu Samuel and Yeye Olubukola Aṣabi Soyoye jointly unveiled and presented her to the good people of Ogun State at an International Press Conference yesterday at Iwe-iroyin House, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta.

Labour Party Playing Tinubu's Cards, Picked Administrative Officer as Presidential Candidate

Labour Party disqualified those who are willing and seriously ready for the presidential race and picked an admin officer at the national Secretariat.

Senator Nenadi Esther Usman led National Working Committee and Alex Otti of Abia State have earnestly compromised the party.

They only end up clearing and administrative officer at the national secretariat Okereke, Sunday Chibuzo never obtained nomination forms or expression of interest form as the presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.

STAY OFF; REMAIN CALM: OGUN STATE LP CHAIR WRITES MEMBERS

Apagun 

I am constrained to write this notice having been inundated by several calls of threats, warning and an in-depth investigation by several people within and outside of the state, to establish a case of planning to arrest, molest and cause confusion before and during their scheduled primary elections for tomorrow. 

For clarity, I, Apagun Olaolu Samuel have no reason to even conceive it as it was a figment of there imagination and bored out of the reminiscence of their past deeds employed against us. 

Nevertheless, as it stands today, I remained the authentic Chairman of the Labour Party Ogun State as it has not been invalidated through court process, the names were transmitted to Abuja via INEC Ogun State with reports covering it. Let it also be known that our team of legal luminaries headed by our pragmatic legal adviser are already studying the situation and will come with their report soonest for ratification and action plan. 

Furthermore, this act of daylight robbery, perjury and forgery shall be contested. To establish their depravity, a viral video doctored by them showing me prostrating for one of the national leader in Abuja is been widely distributed by them to pull me down, prostrating for an elder is part of the enriched tradition and culture of Yoruba land of which I greatly cherish. We all know those who did the April 25 Congress and those who won convincingly, any other Congress done outside this should be supported with facts and evidences. 

Having said these, please stay away from the primaries scheduled for tomorrow as they may unleash a calculated disruption and terror on you to frame you

Obedience is better than sacrifice, STAY CLEAR, STAY OFF, REMAIN CALM as further notifications  and instructions shall be provided through this channel. 

Forward Ever! 

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

Chairman, Labour Party Ogun State

BREAKING: Oyo State Labour Party Chair Sir Dele Abiola Resigns From The Party

 

Sir Dele Abiola 

The Congress Elected State Chairman of Oyo State Labour Party Sir Dele Abiola has resigned from the party.

In letter signed and addressed to the National Chairman of the party Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, Sir Dele Abiola tendered an official resignation from the Labour Party with an immediate effect.

According to the (now)  former Chairman, Together with comrades and stunt supporters of an ideal opposition political party, even in the labour Unions and beyond, I have served this party diligently as the Chairman in Oyo State with an unwavering loyalty through tick and thin.

"Unfortunately, the directions of the present leadership through recent actions of the National Leadership have overtly demonstrated that the Labour Party is in the hands of a clique with no regards for justice, fairness, equity, internal democracy and regards for hardwork and loyalty."

"The party's structure in Oyo  State has been outrightly handed over to individuals who seriously opposed this present national leadership,."

"Congresses that were duly validated at the Umuahia National Convention have been arbitrarily thwarted, declared null and void by a kangaroo harmonization committee without a guidelines until it was questioned.  Delegates from the same congresses elected the substantive National Executive Committee members who are now intentionally causing havocs at the State working committee level."

READ THE LETTER UN FULL: 

 

LETTER OF RESIGNATION FROM THE LABOUR PARTY

Date: 29th May, 2026

To:

The National Chairman

Labour Party

Abuja, Nigeria

  Resignation from the Labour Party

Dear Comrades,

I, Sir Dele Abiola hereby tender an official resignation from the Labour Party with an immediate effect.

Together with comrades and stunt supporters of an ideal opposition political party, even in the labour Unions and beyond, I have served this party diligently as the Chairman in Oyo State with an unwavering loyalty through tick and thin.

Unfortunately, the directions of the present leadership through recent actions of the National Leadership have overtly demonstrated that the Labour Party is in the hands of a clique with no regards for justice, fairness, equity, internal democracy and regards for hardwork and loyalty.

The party's structure in Oyo  State has been outrightly handed over to individuals who seriously opposed this present national leadership,.

Congresses that were duly validated at the Umuahia National Convention have been arbitrarily thwarted, declared null and void by a kangaroo harmonization committee without a guidelines until it was questioned.  Delegates from the same congresses elected the substantive National Executive Committee members who are now intentionally causing havocs at the State working committee level.

A so-called "harmonization committee" with unnecessary vested interests has replaced legitimately elected state executives with the Abure's led EXCOS which the national convention Invalidated in OYO state.

, .

All indications from various conversations only confirmed that the Labour Party is actually not going into the 2027 general elections for any serious context but to work for the incumbent ruling APC government. These actions reveal a party that is not truly prepared to win elections, serve the people's interest, or operate democratically. 

The Labour Party under this leadership has reverted to transactional politics and personal vendettas on mere hearsays..

.

Politics is matter of alignment and realignment, I shall in due cause identify with like minds in the journey for a democratically prosperous country. 

I sincerely thank the Labour Unions, Political Commission, those genuine comrades, faithful members of the party that have always been there with us during the struggle days.who fought alongside me.  The struggle for good governance can never be less that the struggle for independence, it can only be more that it. Forward ever.

Yours sincerely,

Sir Oludele Abiola 

Former Chairman, Oyo State Labour Party.

· cc:

NLC/TUC Political Commission 

NLC President 

South West concerned Leaders 

Press

ATTEMPTED ADMINISTRATIVE COUP IN OGUN LABOUR PARTY: Members Demand National Leadership Intervention Over Alleged Substitution of Congress Winners

Abeokuta, Ogun State: — Concerned members of the Labour Party in Ogun State have raised alarm over what they describe as an “attempted administrative coup” following the conduct of the April 25, 2025 State Congress, alleging unauthorized replacement and substitution of the names of officers who participated, and were declared winners under the supervision of regulatory agencies.

The congress, held on April 25 in Abeokuta, was monitored and observed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Department of State Services (DSS), in line with Section 82(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC guidelines on party congresses. 

According to party members present at the exercise, the process was concluded with a list of duly elected officers and delegates ratified on site. However, reports circulating within the state chapter indicate that a different list containing substituted names has surfaced on the party's loop by one Mr. Akeeb Adesola, a childhood and political ally of one former gubernatorial aspirant in the state who for long has had his eye on hijacking the party structures, known to be a transactional and sleepy sleeky politicians through an unholy alliance consumated by him with the PDP in 2023 general elections, subverting and mismanaging the financial proceeds emanating from the deal is now the Hackman allegedly replacing those who emerged through the monitored process.

Most recently, while Apagun was addressing the press on the matter, he stated unequivocally that  "democracy dies not with a bang, but with the quiet stroke of a pen replacing what the people have already chosen. What we are witnessing in the presumed actions of the National Working Committee is not party administration. It is the deliberate erasure of due process and the substitution of the will of the people with the convenience of a few."  

“This is not just an internal disagreement. It is an attempt to subvert the will of the members and undermine the integrity of an exercise witnessed by INEC, the Police, and DSS, and a report to that effect should be brought forward by the Congress Committee as appointed by the National leadership or that of the official report by the INEC, to substantiate their claims, a party elder from Ogun Central said. “If the original list observed by the authorities is not upheld, it will erode trust in the party and expose us to avoidable litigation.”They will have to show us where their purported Congress took place with evidence said another.

Members warn that proceeding with the substituted list risks plunging the party into another round of legal battles similar to those that have previously distracted and decimated the Labour Party across the nation. They argue that such a move contradicts the party’s constitution and national directives on adherence to due process and observed procedures.

The uproar within the ranks and file has grown in recent days, with ward and local government executives calling for urgent clarification and corrective action. Several members have immediately left the platform while others threatened to approach the courts if the national leadership fails to intervene and restore the outcome of the April 25 congress as monitored.

“We are drawing the attention of the National Chairman, the National Working Committee, to this development,” a statement from the concerned members reads. “Silence or inaction at this stage will be interpreted as endorsement of impunity, and the party will bear the consequences.”

They are urging the national leadership to:

1. Retrieve and compare the list submitted to the national secretariat against the list signed and observed by INEC, Police, and DSS on April 25.

2. Uphold the original outcome of the congress in line with the Electoral Act and party guidelines.

3. Discipline any official found culpable of altering or substituting the names of duly elected members.

4. Re-engage stakeholders in Ogun State to prevent further escalation and preserve party unity ahead of upcoming political activities.

The Labour Party national secretariat has not issued an official response as of press time.

Aside Ogun State labour Party, there have been reported case in different states like Oyo, Kogi, Plateau and others that the names of the Congress duly elected persons were either changed or outrightly jettisoned for Abure led group or certain loyalists who never partake in any State Congress. Is this not impunity?

The party's National Convention in Umuahia, Abia State approved the States Congresses and Invalidated the Abure congresses. For the National Leadership to revert to otherwise calls for concerns that the party's BOT must look into.

Party observers note that unresolved disputes at the state level have historically led to protracted legal disputes that weakened the party’s electoral performance. With 2027 approaching, members say the handling of the Ogun situation will signal whether the party intends to enforce internal democracy and genuine intentions to win the upcoming general elections or tolerate administrative manipulation.

Wave Of Defections Hits Imo Labour Party, Senate Candidate Resigns as Abure Loyalists enthroned

The Labour Party (LP) in Imo State is facing a major crisis following a wave of resignations by senior members, including a prominent Senate candidate as a result of lingering crises within the national structure of the party.

The National Convention in Umuahia, Abia State among the eleven resolutions reached approved the congresses conducted nationwide. The convention also Invalidated illegal congresses conducted by the supreme Court sacked Julius Abure. Senior INEC officers attended the Umuahia Convention.

In the name of reconciliation and harmonization which ensured that. Abure Loyalists were appointed into the national working committee of the party, the state structures and Congress Elected officers have been reported removed and their names may not be submitted to the INEC .


In Imo State, Deacon Chuka Solomon Obaego, a leading figure in the party and Senate aspirant for the Okigwe Zone (Imo North), formally resigned from the Labour Party with effect from April 30, 2026.


Obaego, who hails from Umuoke in Obowo Local Government Area, had been campaigning under the banner of “A Golden Dawn.”His departure has triggered a chain reaction, with several other party officials across the state also submitting their resignation letters.


Sources within the party described the exits as a “coordinated withdrawal” from the Labour Party’s structure in the state.


Although the resignation letters did not explicitly state reasons, insiders point to growing internal tensions and strategic realignments by members ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to the reports, the mass defection has created significant operational gaps for the Labour Party, particularly in Imo North Senatorial Zone, at a time of intense political realignment across Imo State.


As of Tuesday, the Labour Party leadership in Imo State had yet to issue an official statement on the development.


The exodus comes amid reports of lingering crises within the national structure of the Labour Party, further weakening the party’s position in the South-East state.

The overwhelming general opinions of members who stood with the part during the crisis is that nothing should displaced any Congress Elected officers of the party at any level and that the guidelines for harmonization should be strictly followed. Those working currently with the Nenadi Esther Usman are orchestrating plans in different states aiming at dislodging the State Structures for Abure men to take over. 

The uncertainty in the party is majorly responsible for the low turnout of the aspirants obtaining expression of interest forms and nomination forms of the Labour Party.

Julius Abure Sets to Dislodge Nenadi from within as reconciliation talks with Otti collapsed

The Labour Party's Factional National Chairman Julius Abure, has dismissed speculations that reconciliation talks between his camp and Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, collapsed over alleged financial demands, insisting that money was never discussed during the closed-door meeting. Punch newspaper reported Wednesday.

The supreme Court sacked former chairman disclosed this in an interview with  news men amid a lingering leadership crisis rocking the opposition party.

The National leader of the party and governor of Abia State Alex Otti had last month declared that the Labour Party remained open to reconciliation with Abure and his loyalists ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Otti had made the remark during the inaugural meeting of the party’s National Working Committee held at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, where he attended as an observer.

The party during the National Convention had absorbed some of his loyalists and through consensus appointed them into important NWC positions. Notable among them is Madam Hilda Dokubo who is now the National women's Leader of the party under Nenadi Esther Usman led National Working Committee.

But speaking with Newsmen , Abure clarified that the recent engagement with Otti was strictly convened to explore reconciliation and chart a path toward unity within the party, but eventually ended in a deadlock over disagreements surrounding the control and structures of the party while his loyalists are already penetrating the structures at all levels under Nenadi.

While He (Abure) said the talks failed because Otti allegedly insisted that the existing Abure's structure be dissolved before any reconciliation could move forward. Sources confirmed that already the Abure loyalists have infiltrated the ranks and files of the party's structures both at the national and States levels to deray and dislodge the Nenadi leadership by any means possible.

With the pressures from within now around the National Chairman, the decisions of the party at the national convention and congresses organized and approved at the convention are been jetitioned and disregarded as many state leadership under Nenadi are currently been discarded.

Certain sources with the party argued that if Abure and his followers would be absorbed into the legally and authentic structure of the Labour Party, it should be after all of Abure's litigation against the party at the supreme Court discarded. They urged Nenadi to be careful and keep her structures  Nationwide.

Abure said : “We need to make it categorically clear that the meeting we had with Governor Otti was purely for reconciliation and how to forge ahead. But that meeting produced no headway because the governor refused to give an inch due to his earlier recalcitrant stand.

First, to share the positions in the NWC. Secondly, to take his governorship ticket and produce all the state House of Assembly candidates, including all the candidates for House of Representatives and Senate in Abia state.

Lastly, to produce any other governorship, House of Representatives and senatorial candidates in other states where he might have an interest.

“We further conceded the offices of the National Secretary and other key national offices. But with all these sacrifices from the leadership, the governor declined all the proposals and insisted that all positions in the NWC have already been filled by him, while offering us the Vice Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees.”

Abure also rejected allegations that he demanded financial inducement from the governor as part of the reconciliation process, describing the claims as false and deliberate misinformation.

“We also need to make it very clear that a lot of misconceptions have been spreading, probably deliberately, that the leadership of the Labour Party requested huge sums of money from Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti, to reconcile.

“At no time was the issue of money discussed. Nobody made any financial requests, and nobody offered any money to anyone. We are therefore calling on all party members and supporters to disregard the fake news, whose sources are not too difficult to decipher,” he clarified.

The factional chairman expressed disappointment over the outcome of the reconciliation effort, blaming what he described as Otti’s intransigence for the collapse of the talks.

Abure further stated that his leadership would continue efforts to “recover the party” from what he termed “political buccaneers and merchants” allegedly bent on destabilising the Labour Party.

While he expressed confidence that the lingering leadership dispute would eventually be resolved by the Supreme Court following the appeal filed at the apex court, his loyalists within the continually recognized Nenadi led NWC team are already doing internal damaging and strategic move to reposition the Abure structures within the system.

There were clear indications that neither of the two sides are not willing to support the Nigeria's incumbent President Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC. Members of Abure factions had more than two months ago declared support for the incumbent President, while Nenadi Esther Usman have not openly endorsed the president, members of her NWC from southern Zones have reportedly been routing for Tinubu while LP members in the National Assembly are also reportedly supporting the president.

The endless legal struggles and the victory secured from Court will become meaning if Abure can dislodged from within,  and very useless if both agreed to work and support the anti people Leadership of Bola Hammed Tinubu.

Nigerians who are at the receiving end of the bad governance and who genuinely want a change of leadership in the country through any of the opposition political parties have to do a rethink  and thorough re-evaluation.