The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not yet made a decision regarding the leadership of the Labour Party following a recent Supreme Court judgement.
Multiple INEC sources confirmed to on Thursday that the commission was still reviewing the court’s judgment.
“No decision has been made yet on the Supreme Court judgment of the Labour Party,” an official said anonymously for lack of authorisation to speak to the press.
Another official stated that a decision would only be taken after INEC had studied the Certified True Copy of the judgment.
“The commission needs to obtain a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgement, study it carefully to determine what the court intended, before arriving at an informed decision,” the official said.
The Supreme Court had on April 4, 2025 overturned an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal that had recognised Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
The apex court ruled that the appeal court lacked jurisdiction over internal party matters.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision was interpreted differently, with Abure claiming that the court did not remove him from office, while the LP Caretaker Committee, led by Nenadi Usman, claimed that Abure was fired.
At the same time, Lamidi Apapa, the party’s splinter leader, emerged to claim leadership.
On April 9, an LP team led by Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti and the party’s presidential candidate for 2023, Peter Obi, visited INEC headquarters in Abuja to clarify the leadership position.
During the visit, Otti handed a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court’s verdict to the electoral authority.
The visit intended to shed light on the party’s leadership and guarantee effective communication with INEC.
The group was met by INEC National Commissioner Sam Olumekun and other senior commission officials.
During the discussion, participants discussed ways to increase collaboration between INEC and the Labour Party, with a focus on safeguarding democratic values.
Olumekun underlined the commission’s commitment to impartiality, transparency, and the rule of law in carrying out its mandate.
Meanwhile, Abure claimed on Thursday that he is still the legitimate Labour Party National Chairman.
Abure issued a warning to Otti and Obi to heed the Supreme Court judgment.
Speaking through LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Abure said, “The position of the Labour Party after critically reviewing the Supreme Court judgment delivered on the 4th of April 2025 stated as follows: The Supreme Court, contrary to speculations, actually reaffirmed the National Convention of the Party held on the 27th of March 2024 at Nnewi.
“The reason for the non-justiciability of internal disputes of a political party is simple, and in the eyes of the law, a political party is a corporate entity with its constitution, rules, regulations, and guidelines which are binding on members who had joined freely have consented to be so bound (See Abegunde Vs. Ondo State House of Assembly & Ors. (2015) LPELR-24588 (SC).
“Consequently, we admonished Alex Otti, the Governor of Abia State, and Peter Obi, former presidential Candidate of our party in the 2023 General Election, who are the protagonists of the current division in the Party, to hear the Supreme Court loud and clear.”
He insisted that before the contentious National Convention, the Labour Party fulfilled all legal requirements in line with the LP Constitution, Electoral Act, and the 1999 Constitution.
According to Abure, those insisting their tenure has expired probably misinterpreted the judgment.
“The Supreme Court admonished party members to respect the Constitution of their party when it stated thus; Political Parties have put in place diverse kinds of internal dispute resolution mechanisms to handle any matter arising from disputes among members.
“Political parties and their members should, therefore, have faith in the internal dispute resolution mechanisms prescribed in their party constitution,” he stated.
