The internal crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) has escalated further, as the faction led by former Finance Minister Nenadi Usman has approached the Federal High Court in Zamfara to stop the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, from presenting himself as the LP’s leader.
The Usman-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC), backed by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and other senior officials, filed an ex parte motion through ally Alhaji Sule Garba (Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/30/2025) to bar both Abure and the party’s national secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, from acting on behalf of the Labour Party.
However, on May 15, Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim declined to grant the requested interim order, ruling that all parties involved including Abure, Ibrahim, the LP itself, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nmust be served notice before any further proceedings. The judge ordered an expedited hearing and adjourned the matter to June 4, 2025.
This latest legal move comes weeks after the Supreme Court, in a July 4 ruling, advised that political parties should resolve internal disputes through their own mechanisms rather than relying on the courts. Despite that ruling, both the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) and the Usman-led NCC have refused to relinquish their respective claims to the party’s leadership.
Reacting to the development, Labour Party National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, criticized the actions of the Otti/Usman faction, calling their approach “desperate.”
“We are shocked that some leaders are going to great lengths—shopping for court orders across the country—to create chaos within the party and disrupt INEC’s recognition of our leadership. They even traveled overnight to Zamfara to obtain a ruling, but the court denied their request,” Ifoh said.
He added: “This isn’t the first time they’ve tried this. They attempted something similar in Aba last year and were also rejected. It’s unfortunate that some of our members are fixated on internal power struggles while other political parties are already preparing seriously for the 2027 elections.”
Ifoh further emphasized that the Supreme Court had not removed Julius Abure from his position as national chairman, nor had it declared Nenadi Usman as his replacement. He also noted that INEC had dismissed the legitimacy of the stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia where Usman was declared chair.
“We appeal to our aggrieved members to respect the Supreme Court’s ruling and uphold the unity of the party,” Ifoh concluded.
Meanwhile, the Usman-led NCC has yet to respond publicly to this latest episode. However, it has recently launched a disciplinary panel to review Abure’s tenure—a move that prompted the Abure-led NWC to swiftly suspend Governor Otti and several other top members of the party.
The ongoing conflict signals a deepening rift within the Labour Party, raising concerns about its cohesion and preparedness ahead of future political contests.