The Independent National Electoral Commission has recognised the Labour Party National Working Committee led by Nenadi Usman, following a court order directing the electoral body to do so.
Checks on the INEC website on Friday, January 30, showed that Independent National Electoral Commission has listed Nenadi Usman as chairperson of the Labour Party caretaker committee. Other members listed include Senator Darlington Nwokocha as National Secretary, Hamisu Santuraki as National Treasurer, Aisha Madije as National Financial Secretary, and Eric Ifere as National Legal Adviser.
The development adds a new dimension to the ongoing leadership crisis within the Labour Party, one of Nigeria’s opposition parties.
On January 21, the Federal High Court in Abuja recognised the Usman-led National Working Committee and removed Julius Abure as national chairman. Justice Peter Lifu based his ruling on an earlier Supreme Court judgment which declared Nenadi Usman as the authentic leader of the party.
Justice Lifu ordered INEC to recognise the Usman-led committee as the party’s legally recognised authority pending the conduct of the next national convention. He held that evidence before the court showed that Abure’s tenure had expired.
While dismissing the matter as a non-justiciable internal party affair, the judge said the establishment of a caretaker committee was “a necessity” flowing from the Supreme Court’s decision.
Following the ruling, the Abure-led faction of the party announced its intention to appeal. The group’s spokesperson, Obiorah Ifoh, said, “The judgment was a clear contradiction of the Supreme Court judgment, which clearly stated that no court has the power to appoint leadership for any political party and that leadership issues are internal affairs of political parties.”
Ifoh further argued that the Court of Appeal had previously affirmed Abure’s National Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the party, insisting, “To us, this is a clear contradiction of what the Supreme Court said. The apex court held that all matters relating to the leadership of a political party are internal affairs of the party, and that has been its consistent position.”
The internal crisis within the Labour Party dates back to the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, in which the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, polled over six million votes nationwide.
Ahead of the 2027 elections, Obi has since declared for the African Democratic Congress, after which the Labour Party appointed Abia State Governor Alex Otti as its national leader.
