The Labor Party’s leadership crisis intensified on Tuesday, when factional National Chairman Julius Abure rejected the Court of Appeal’s decision, threatening to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Abure, in a statement made accessible to journalists in Abuja, rejected the appellate court’s decision, which affirmed Nenadi Usman’s leadership, claiming it violated established legal principles and party protocols.
He contended that party leadership disputes were an internal matter beyond the purview of judicial intervention and that the court’s ruling did not follow previous legal precedents.
“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.
“I want to say very clearly that the judgment is against all known principles of law. The courts, the Supreme Court, and all courts in Nigeria have stated very clearly that the issue of leadership of a political party is an internal affair of a political party.
“It is also not true, and I disagree when people say that the tenure of this executive has expired. That is untrue and very unacceptable to us,” he stated.
Previously, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja unanimously dismissed Abure’s appeal, calling it unconvincing and lacking legal substance.
The court maintained the Federal High Court’s earlier decision to affirm Usman’s leadership.
Abure ruled that the party’s convention in Nnewi on March 27, 2024, generated a valid leadership set to serve for four years.
According to Abure, the court failed to properly consider this in reaching its conclusion.
He said, “I want to say that the court today didn’t look at that before concluding that the tenure has expired. I must also say clearly that the Umuahia meeting, which produced the caretaker committee, was also against the Labour Party constitution.
“It is only the National Chairman and Secretary of a political party who have the power to convene any NEC meeting of any sort. Let me state clearly that we are going to appeal that decision.
“Today’s decision of the Appeal Court is not acceptable to us, and we reject it in its entirety. We have put our legal team together, and we are going to file an appeal and move to the Supreme Court.”
The verdict is a significant defeat for Abure’s faction since a succession of judicial and political actions have shifted recognition in favor of Usman’s side.
The crisis reached a watershed moment two months ago, when the Independent National Electoral Commission publicly accepted the Usman-led National Caretaker Committee as the party’s legitimate leadership, after the Federal High Court’s ruling.
The commission’s decision came after weeks of heated internal debate, competing leadership claims, and protracted legal battles that have plagued the party since the 2023 general elections.
As part of the revisions, INEC amended its records, substituting Abure’s name with Usman’s as acting national chairman on the official platform.
