The leadership crisis within the Labour Party (LP) deepened on Wednesday as the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, rejected a Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee backed by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.
Abure, in a statement issued in Abuja by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, announced that the ruling would be challenged at the Court of Appeal. He argued that the judgment conflicted with the Supreme Court’s April 2025 decision on the party’s leadership dispute.
The statement, titled “Nenadi: Labour Party to Appeal Judgment,” followed the ruling delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The court held that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had elapsed and consequently ordered INEC to recognise the caretaker committee chaired by Senator Nenadi Usman pending the conduct of the party’s national convention.
Reacting to the decision, the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) described the ruling as a misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s judgment and an intrusion into the internal affairs of the party. The party said it would immediately file an appeal once it obtained the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment.
“Although we are yet to see the Certified True Copy of the judgment, from the brief available to us, it is clear that the party will appeal,” the statement said.
The Abure faction also alleged procedural irregularities in the handling of the case, claiming that concerns had arisen even before the judgment was delivered. It cited the reassignment of the matter from one judge to another as a major red flag.
“When the matter was first filed, it was assigned to Justice Omotosho. Suddenly, another matter was filed, the earlier one withdrawn, and the case reassigned to Justice Peter Lifu. That was a red flag for us,” the party said.
The faction further claimed it was denied a fair hearing, alleging that the court refused to allow it respond to issues raised in a counter-affidavit before adjourning for judgment.
According to the statement, the outcome of the case appeared to have been pre-determined, noting that opponents had celebrated the expected judgment weeks before it was delivered.
Questioning the substance of the ruling, the Abure camp argued that it contradicted established judicial precedents. It recalled that the Court of Appeal had previously recognised Abure’s National Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the party—an outcome that Nenadi Usman had challenged at the Supreme Court.
“Ironically, a Federal High Court has now turned around to appoint a caretaker chairman, contrary to the Supreme Court’s position that courts have no power to impose leadership on political parties,” the statement said.
The party maintained that the Supreme Court clearly ruled that leadership disputes within political parties are internal matters beyond judicial intervention. It also rejected the court’s conclusion that Abure’s tenure had expired, insisting that no leadership vacuum existed.
The statement explained that the party’s national convention was held in March 2024, ahead of the June 2024 expiration of the executive’s tenure, thereby lawfully producing the current leadership.
“It is baffling how the court concluded that there was a vacuum in the party’s leadership without interrogating the legality of the March 27, 2024 national convention,” the party stated.
While urging party members to remain calm, the Abure-led leadership vowed to exhaust all legal options to reclaim its position, stressing that the party’s leadership was not for sale.
Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Lifu ordered INEC to recognise the Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee pending the conduct of a national convention. The court held that the committee constituted by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) remained the valid authority to represent the Labour Party.
The ruling followed an expanded stakeholders’ meeting of the Labour Party held in Umuahia, Abia State, and hosted by Governor Alex Otti. The meeting, chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, resolved to remove Abure as national chairman and subsequently constituted a 29-member caretaker committee headed by Senator Nenadi Usman.
Abure later approached the Federal High Court seeking judicial validation of his continued stay in office. However, in April 2025, the Supreme Court set aside an earlier Court of Appeal ruling that had recognised him as national chairman, holding that appellate courts lack jurisdiction to determine the leadership of political parties.
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