WHO IS TONY MARSHAL IN THE LAGOS STATE LABOUR PARTY?
This is to put the record straight on the continual nuisance, being casused by a former deputy chairman of Lagos State chapter of Labour Party, one Comr. Tony Marshal, who has audaciously, mischievously, deliberately and impunitively been misleading and confusing the general public about the issue of the leadership of the party in Lagos State, especially as the 2023 general election draws closer.
The imposter only served as a deputy to Mr. Fagbemi Awamaridi, and their tenure has since expired and no longer recognise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the national leadership of the party any more.
So, that makes him a former deputy chairman of the party in the state, whose tenure has since ended, and, therefore, no longer have the locus standi to operate as any authority in Labour party, or recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state any more, and by extension anywhere at the federal level.
WHAT POSITION DOES HE HOLD IN THE PRESENT LABOUR PARTY SYSTEM IN LAGOS STATE?
None!
He is just an ordinary member of the party, and a popularly known stakeholder, by virtue of his former position in the party.
WHAT OFFICE DOES HE HOLD, AT PRESET, IN THE NLC AND TUC POLITICAL COMMISSION SYSTEM?
Tony Marshal is not holding any office in NLC, TUC, or in any of their political commissions/formations right now.
He is just a conservative journalist, who claims to be working for NLC/TUC inside their Yaba union house.
DOES HE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE PARADING HIMSELF AS THE STATE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY?!
The answer is, No!
Simply because, the office of the national chairman of the party has not officially appointed him to run the affairs of the party in the state.
And, neither is his name the one submitted to INEC as the state chairman, and recongnised by INEC for any dealing in the state at the moment.
So, Tony Marshal is not recognized by INEC, and so cannot transact any business of the party with INEC.
Please, Note:
If you are claiming to be running a political party, group or platform, and INEC does not officially know/recognize you, then you are just wasting your own time, and that of the people you are leading, except you only want to be using that group deceptively for political negotiations.
DOES TONY MARSHAL HAVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL POWER OF THE PARTY AND THE LAW OF INEC TO BE RUNNING HIS OWN BRAND OF LABOUR PARTY SYSTEM IN LAGOS, LET ALONE GOING ABOUT PUTTING IN PLACE ILLEGAL EXCO STRUCTURES IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE STATE, WHEN HE IS NOT THE RECOGNISED, AND CONSTITUED CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY IN THE STATE.
NO!
It is very audacious, criminally inclined and illegal to the authority of the national leadership of the party for anyone to be doing so.
Such kind of desperate, mischievous and self-centered moves simply amount to anti-party activities, which normally should attract punishment from the national leadership of the party.
However, by now, Tony Marshal should have been publicly sanctioned and punished by the national leadership of the party for creating so much nuisance and tension in the party polity.
TONY MARSHAL CLAIMS TO BE ACTING UNDER THE LEGAL RIGHT OF THE NLC AND TUC TO BE DOING ALL HE HAS BEEN DOING, DELIBERATELY CAUSING DISTRACTIONS, CONFUSIONS AND DIVISIONS IN THE PARTY.
WELL, THE NLC AND TUC HAVEN’T COME OUT ANYWHERE TO OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE TONY MARSHAL AS ITS OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THAT TYPE OF ANY OF THEIR OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.
ANOTHER QUESTION IS THIS:
WHO OWNS THE LABOUR PARTY IN NIGERIA?
IS IT THE NLC/TUC?!
The answer is, No!
The Labour Party was formed by a group of politicians in Ibadan in the year 2002, but with the 10% underground stakeholdership involvements, and participation of some leaders of the NLC/TUC labour union leaders as at the time, under the name, THE PLATFORM PEOPLE.
Those ‘platform people’, are the NLC/TUC formation stakeholders in the Labour Party, who were leaders of the labour union, who took party in the creation of the Party in that year.
If you are reading the constitution of the party, and you see it talk about the PLATFORM people, then it is those leaders of the Labour union, who were part of the formation of the party that it is referring to.
The Party of Social Democracy (PSD) was the first name of the party, before it was later changed to LABOUR PARTY a year after, in order to make it attractive and widely accepted by Nigerian civil servants/workers in Nigeria.
So, it is not the NLC/TUC, which absolutely own the Labour Party. It is just a part of the formation founding-father ownership and shareholdership interest of the party.
In a nutshell, the NLC/TUC is just a shareholder stakeholdership partner in the formation of the Labour Party in Nigeria.
The Labour Union in Nigeria is only entitled to 10% stakeholdership slots in the running of the party.
And, that is why the constitution of the party only recommends that the position slot/participation of the NLC/TUC in the formation of the exco of the party in any state should just be only one slot.
One slot for the NLC, and One slot for the TUC.
That is their statutory slots in the executive working committee formation of the party in any state in Nigeria, including Lagos State.
If it is NLC/TUC, which own Labour Party, then it is the NLC/TUC, which would be empowered by the constitution of the party to run the affairs of the party directly in Nigeria.
That is why the national/state/Local Government Secretariat of the party cannot legally run inside the labour union house of the NLC/TUC anywhere around Nigeria.
Or, is the national Secretariat of the party in Abuja inside the Nigerian Labour Union house in Abuja?!
Where the secretariat of the party runs, must be different from where the Labour Union house runs, because NLC/TUC is different from Labour Party.
They are two independent separate operational entities.
If NLC/TUC is the absolute owner of the Labour Party in Nigeria, then it is Comr. Ayuba Waba, the President of the NLC, and his counterpart in the TUC, who would be empowered by the constitution of the party to run the affairs of the Labour Party directly from the National to the state level, and not Barr. (Comr.) Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party in Nigeria.
In fact, it is Comr. Ayuba Waba et al, who would be empowered to determine, who runs the Labour Party system from the National to the state levels, directly from his office in Abuja.
So, it is not only the NLC/TUC, which own Labour Party in Nigeria.
90% of the ownership stake is owned by the founding politicians, who gave birth to the idea of the party in Ibadan in 2002.
The Party for Social Democracy (PSD) was formed by politicians, but with only 10% partnership/stakeholdership involvement of some labour union leaders in it at the time.
Affirmatively, that is why Labour Party cannot run inside any Labour Union house legally in Nigeria.
FINALLY, DOES THE NLC/TUC PEOPLE LIKE TONY MARSHAL AND CO. HAVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT/AUTHORITY OF THE PARTY TO RUN THEIR OWN BRANDS OF LABOUR PARTY SYSTEM ANYWHERE?
THE ANSWER IS CAPITAL LETTER, NO!
They would only be deciving the members of the party, and the people they are leading by continuing to be doing so, under any guise, reason and purpose.
TONY MARSHAL is just an ordinary member of the party, who has only been arrogating powers he doesn’t have to himself on the platfrom of Labour Party in Lagos State.
He doesn’t have the power to keep running his own brand of Labour Party in Lagos State, let alone keep forming exco. structures in Local governments around the state.
Whatever he does in his own capacity as Tony Marshal is null and void – It is not known to the laws of the party, and can never be accepted by the operational ethics of the party.
He is not the national chairman of the party. He cannot install himself as the state chairman of the party, and cannot send his own name by himself to INEC for operational dealing and formal acceptance.
He is not the state chairman of the Labour Party in Lagos State, so realistically cannot lead anybody to anywhere good on the platform.
The only man, who has the power to make appointments into any office of the party from the national level to the state level, or to choose, who becomes the caretaker chairman of the party in any state, is the Comr. (Barr.) Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the party, who appointed Comr. Olukayode Ezekiel Salako to run the affairs of the party in the state.
It is not NLC/TUC of political commissions, or Tony Marshal and his ilk, who has the power to do so.
THAT IS PROBABLY WHY THE NAME OF NLC/TUC IS NOT MENTIONED FOR ONCE ANYWHERE INSIDE THE CONSTITUTION OF THE LABOUR PARTY IN NIGERIA.
Go and read the constitution of Labour Party in Nigeria, you won’t see the name of NLC/TUC mentioned at all in it, but scarcely referred to as the PLATFORM people.
And, if the party must give NLC/TUC anything on the platform, it must be around the 10% of their negotiated stakeholdership involvement in the formation of the party.
AS IT STANDS NOW IN THE PARTY, WISE MEMBERS SHOULD KNOW THAT TONY MARSHAL WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO LEAD THOSE HE HAS BEEN CONFUSING AND MISLEADING TO ANYWHERE GAINFUL IN THE PARTY, EXCEPT HE COMES TO WORK WITH THE MAINSTREAM AND CONSTITUED AUTHORITY OF THE PARTY IN THE STATE.
HIS OVER BEARING ATTITUDE, AS WELL AS, HIS OVER ASSUMING ACTIVITIES ON THE PLATFORM OF THE LABOUR PARTY IN LAGOS STATE, WILL NOT LEAD ANYONE STILL FOLLOWING HIM TO ANY GAIN, ON THE LONG RUN, IN THE PARTY, EXCEPT THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF THE PARTY PRONOUNCES HIM AS THE NEW STATE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY TOMORROW.
BUT FOR NOW, HE IS JUST AN ORDINARY MEMBER OF THE PARTY.
The man that his name has been validly announced as the State Chairman of the Labour party in the state, is comr. Olukayode Salako.
It is his name that is with INEC, LAGOS POLICE COMMAND, IPAC, DSS, ARMY …RIGHT NOW, AND THE ONLY RECOGNISED CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY BY THE NATIONAL SECRETARIAT OF THE LABOUR PARTY, AS THE MAN CONSTITUTIONALLY APPOINED TO RUN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY IN THE STATE.
He is the member of the forum of the 36 state chairmen of Labour Party in Nigeria; the 18 chairmen of all the registered political parties in Nigeria (IPAC), and the main signatory to the bank accounts of the party in the state et cetra.
As well as the custodian of the legally valid politico-operational structure of the party in the state.
However, for as long as his name has not yet been removed, and replaced by Tony Marshal’s name, or that of anyone else, he remains the valid chairman of the party in the state, until the national leadership of the party, through the office of the National Chairman, decides otherwise, or a state congress election is held in the state, any time soon, or in the nearest future.
– From the New Media/Strategic communications Department of the Labour Party in Lagos State.
