Justice Peter Lifu of a Federal High Court Abuja, has recognized the Senator Nenadi Usman-led exco of the Labour Party sacking Barrister Julius Abure as the national chairman of the party.
Delivering judgement, Justice Lifu relied on the 4 April 2025 verdict of the Supreme Court to declare Usman as the valid leader of the party.
The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to forthwith, recognise the Usman-led caretaker committee as the only valid authority to represent the party, pending its national convention.
The judgement followed a suit instituted by the Usman group.
Aside from Abure, the Nigerian Labour Congress was also cited as a defendant in the matter.
Justice Lifu held that evidence before him established that Abure’s tenure as the national chairman of the LP had since elapsed.
While dismissing Abure’s contention that the matter was an internal affair of a political party that is non-justiceable, the court held that the setting up of the caretaker committee was ‘a necessity’ that arose from the order of the Supreme Court.
On 9 January the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) also announced the recognition of Usman as its national chairman.
The opposition party said that the move reaffirmed the Supreme Court judgement of 4 April 2025, which held that Abure’s tenure as national chairman of the Labour Party had elapsed.
‘The NWC reaffirmed that all congresses and the national convention of the party shall hold accordingly, in strict compliance with the provisions of the party constitution. Members at all levels are therefore encouraged to actively participate in the congress processes’, the party said.
