Abure rejects ruling affirming Nenadi Usman as LP chair, heads to s’court

Julius Abure, factional chairman of the Labour Party (LP), says his legal team will head to the supreme court to challenge the judgement delivered by the court of appeal on the party’s leadership dispute.

On January 21, Peter Lifu, the presiding judge of the federal high court in Abuja, reaffirmed an earlier judgement of the supreme courtof April 4, 2025, which removed Abure as the national chairman of the LP.

The court had at the time directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Nenadi Usman as the legitimate leader of the party, to the exclusion of all others.

On Monday, a three-member panel of the appellate court in Abuja dismissed Abure’s appeal seeking to overturn the ruling of the federal high court.

In the lead judgement delivered by Oyejoju Oyewumi, the appellate court affirmed the decision of the lower court, holding that the apex court had conclusively settled the leadership dispute within the party when it nullified the convention that purportedly returned Abure as national chairman.

The court further ruled that the federal high court acted within its powers under section 251 of the constitution when it ordered INEC to recognise Usman as the party’s national chairperson.

According to the appellate court, the constitution of a caretaker committee headed by Usman was necessary to fill the leadership vacuum created after Abure’s removal.

The court described Abure’s appeal as lacking merit and an abuse of court process and consequently imposed a cost of N10 million against him.

Reacting in a statement on Tuesday, Abure rejected the judgement, describing it as against all known principles of law.

“We have seen what transpired today at the Appeal Court and we want to say very clearly that the judgment is not acceptable to all of us in the Labour Party led by my humble self,” the statement reads.

“I want to say very clearly that the judgment is against all known principles of law. The courts, including the Supreme Court, have stated that the issue of leadership of a political party is an internal affair.”

Abure maintained that his tenure had not expired, insisting that the March 27, 2024, convention held in Nnewi, Anambra state, remained valid.

“That is untrue and unacceptable. That convention is still subsisting for four years, and the court did not take that into consideration before arriving at its conclusion,” he added.

He also faulted the Umuahia meeting that produced the caretaker committee, describing it as unconstitutional.

“It is only the National Chairman and National Secretary who have the power to convene an NEC meeting,” he said.

Abure reiterated that his faction would exhaust all legal avenues to reclaim the party leadership.

“We have put our legal team together and we are going to file an appeal and move to the Supreme Court,” he stated.(TheCable)