The gavel has finally dropped in Labour Party’s long-running leadership crisis. A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise former Finance Minister, Sen. Nenadi Usman, as the legitimate leader of the Labour Party (LP).
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu relied on an earlier Supreme Court ruling of April 4, 2025, to sack Julius Abure as National Chairman and affirm Usman as head of the party’s National Caretaker Committee pending a fresh national convention. The court ruled that Abure’s tenure had expired and that the party could not be left in a leadership vacuum.
Justice Lifu dismissed claims that the dispute was a mere internal party matter, insisting the court was bound by the apex court’s decision. He warned that ruling otherwise would amount to “judicial rascality,” stressing that all legal questions raised by Usman had already been settled by the Supreme Court.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Usman against Abure and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The court consequently ordered INEC to recognise only the Usman-led caretaker committee as the lawful authority of the Labour Party.
The crisis had deepened after the LP’s National Executive Committee removed Abure and set up a 29-member caretaker committee chaired by Usman at a stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia, hosted by Abia Governor Alex Otti and chaired by 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi. Though Abure initially won at the High Court and Appeal Court, the Supreme Court later overturned those rulings—clearing the way for Wednesday’s decision.
Leave a comment