BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG
LAGOS—ORGANISED labour and its civil society allies have begun a move to rescue the Labour Party, LP, from desperate politicians, ahead of 2015, lamenting that the party has derailed from the ideals that promoted its formation.

According to the stakeholders at forum in Lagos, the party re-launched in 2003 on the principle of social democracy, had been hijacked by political usurpers with different agenda, noting that it was time to rescue the party and make it serve the interest of Nigerians along social democratic principles.

At the forum organised by National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, in collaboration with Lagos Chapter of LP, to galvanise support for the cause, speakers included Sylvester Ejiofor, pioneer national chairman of the party, Isa Aremu, a Vice president o the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Oladele Hunsu, President of NUTGTWN and leaders of civil society allies of labour.

They unanimously agreed that the party had lost focus, and not serving the interest it was meant to serve.

According to Ejiofor, those who formed the party had abandoned it in the hands of politicians who were using it to pursue narrow interest and political gains.

He likened the fate of the party to a man who went shopping and left the trawler in the shopping mall after filling it with various items already paid, adding that leaders of organised labour at national, state and local government “must come together and say no to politicians who want to use the party as a platform for short-term gains.”

On his part, Aremu, said it was difficult now to determine political ideology the party was pursuing, saying “What political ideology does the Labour Party stand for, the left or the right? It is difficult to tell.”