Senator Nenadi Usman has assumed office as the Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party, making her the first female to lead a major political party in Nigeria.
At the secretariat on Tuesday, Usman expressed gratitude and optimism over the development.
‘I want to particularly thank God Almighty for a day like this. This is the day that the Lord has made; we shall rejoice and be glad in it.
‘It’s a very important day because this is the first event we are having in our national secretariat since the Supreme Court judgment on 4 April last year’, she said.
She acknowledged that the journey to this point was not without challenges.
‘What we thought was going to be smooth sailing took a long time, but with patience, today we are here.
‘We want to thank God for it and promise all party faithful across the country that we will do the right thing at the right time. All we want is to develop this party’, she added.
Usman also praised the efforts of Abia State Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, and his team, who have been actively working since the committee’s inauguration in December.
‘They’ve been doing a lot of work, and we thought it would be nice to meet today in front of the press to let the whole country know what we have done so far’, Usman said.
The new Labour Party leader concluded by assuring supporters of her commitment: ‘For those who have been very supportive and encouraged us, we want to let you know that we will not let you down’, she said.
Usman took journalists on a tour of the party’s national secretariat in Utako District, Abuja, to confirm that she and her team had officially taken over from the Julius Abure-led faction.
A Federal High Court had affirmed the removal of Barrister Julius Abure as National Chairman and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the Usman-led National Caretaker Committee as the lawful leadership of the party.
