The federal high court in Abuja has ruled that the Nenadi Usman-led national caretaker committee of the Labour Party (LP) is the authentic leadership of the party.
Peter Lifu, the presiding judge, on Wednesday, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Usman-led wing of the party.
The judge reaffirmed the verdict of the supreme court that voided the order of the court of appeal.
Lifu ruled that evidence before the court shows that the tenure of Julius Abure, the LP national chairman, has elapsed.
The suit was filed by Usman, a former minister of finance. Abure and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) are defendants in the suit.
Since 2023, LP has been embroiled in a leadership crisis with two factions — Abure’s and the Usman-led committee — battling for the soul of the party.
Peter Obi, the 2023 LP presidential candidate, belonged to the Usman faction.
However, Obi recently joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the party adopted by opposition leaders for the 2027 elections.
BACKGROUND
In April 2023, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the LP.
After the court order, Lamidi Apapa, then deputy national chairman, became the national chairman of the party.
The restraining order was later voided by the appeal court.
In March 2024, Abure was re-elected as the national chairman at the party’s national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra state.
However, the national convention was not recognised by INEC as the electoral body said it did not monitor the convention.
In September 2024, Usman was appointed to chair a 29-member caretaker committee after Alex Otti, governor of Abia state, convened a stakeholders meeting of the party in Umuahia.
In a judgment on October 8, 2024, the federal high court affirmed the Abure-led leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the party executives.
Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, had ordered INEC to recognise Abure as the legitimate chairman of the party.
On January 17, 2025, the court of appeal ruled that its earlier decision in November 2024, recognising Abure as the party’s chairman, remains valid and has not been overturned by any court.
In April 2025, the supreme court set aside the judgment of the court of appeal in Abuja which recognised Abure as the national chairman of LP.
The apex court ruled that Abure’s tenure had elapsed
