The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday officially sacked Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Senator Esther Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the party’s legitimate leadership.
Delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, the judgment relied on the Supreme Court’s April 4, 2025, ruling, which declared Usman as the valid leader of the party. The court instructed INEC to recognise the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as “the only valid authority to represent the Labour Party,” pending the party’s next national convention.
The ruling followed a suit filed by Senator Usman before the Federal High Court under case number THC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025. Aside from Abure, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) was also named as a defendant.
Justice Lifu found that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had elapsed and dismissed his claim that the matter was an internal party affair, deeming the formation of the Caretaker Committee a necessary step following the Supreme Court’s directive.
The caretaker committee was constituted by the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) after a leadership crisis rocked the party. The committee, chaired by Senator Usman, comprises 29 members and was formed at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting hosted by Abia State Governor Alex Otti in Umuahia. The meeting, which sacked Abure, was chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Abure had challenged his removal, claiming in a separate suit that he was lawfully elected as Acting National Chairman in 2021 following the death of the former chairman. He also stated that the party’s 2024 National Convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, reaffirmed his leadership.
While both the high court and the Court of Appeal had previously upheld Abure’s leadership and ordered INEC to recognise him, the Supreme Court ultimately nullified the lower courts’ decisions, confirming Senator Usman’s leadership and dismissing Abure’s cross-appeal.
The apex court also emphasized the importance of political parties abiding by their internal rules and urged officials whose tenures have expired to vacate their positions promptly.
VANGUARD