BREAKING: Court removes Abure, directs INEC to recognise Nenadi-led Labour Party exco

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, removed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Senator Esther Nenadi Usman led caretaker leadership of the party.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, the court relied on the April 4, 2025, decision of the Supreme Court to affirm Senator Nenadi Usman, a former Minister of Finance, as the legitimate leader of the Labour Party.

Justice Lifu consequently directed INEC to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman led Caretaker Committee as “the only valid authority to represent the Labour Party,” pending the conduct of a national convention by the party.

The ruling followed a suit marked THC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, which was filed by Senator Usman. Julius Abure and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) were listed as defendants in the matter.

In his judgment, Justice Lifu held that the evidence before the court clearly showed that Abure’s tenure as National Chairman of the Labour Party had expired. He dismissed Abure’s argument that the dispute was an internal party affair and, therefore, non-justiciable, holding instead that the constitution of a caretaker committee was “a necessity” arising from the Supreme Court’s decision.

The court recalled that amid a leadership crisis within the party, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party had resolved to remove Abure from office. To address the leadership vacuum, the NEC constituted a 29-member caretaker committee with Senator Usman as its chairman.

The decision was taken at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting of the party hosted in Umuahia, Abia State, by Governor Alex Otti. The meeting that led to Abure’s removal was chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate and former ally of Abure, Mr Peter Obi.

Aggrieved by the decision, Abure subsequently approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to validate his position as the party’s National Chairman.

In an affidavit personally deposed to in support of his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, Abure told the court that following the death of the Labour Party’s National Chairman, he was duly elected Acting National Chairman at a NEC meeting held in Benin City, Edo State, on March 29, 2021.

He further stated that at a NEC meeting held on April 18, 2023, in Asaba, Delta State an exercise he said was duly monitored by INEC. The party resolved to renew the tenures of state chairmen whose terms had expired.

The court, however, maintained that party officials whose tenures have elapsed must vacate their offices in line with the law.