A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, a former Minister of Finance, as the authentic National Leader of the Labour Party.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu also declared the removal of Mr. Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the party, citing the expiration of his tenure.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, was filed by Senator Usman against Abure and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as defendants.
Justice Lifu stated that his decision relied on an April 4, 2025 pronouncement of the Supreme Court which earlier declared Senator Usman as the Caretaker Chairman of the Labour Party.
The court held that the establishment of the Labour Party’s Caretaker Committee was a necessity arising from the Supreme Court’s order and dismissed Abure’s argument that the issue was an internal party affair.
“The court ordered INEC to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the only valid authority to represent the Labour Party pending when the party convenes its national convention,” the judge ruled.
The ruling follows months of internal crisis within the party, which began when the party’s National Executive Committee resolved to sack Abure as chairman at a stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia hosted by Abia State Governor Alex Otti. The meeting was chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi.
To fill the leadership vacuum, the party constituted a 29-member caretaker committee, headed by Senator Nenadi Usman.
Abure had earlier approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to invalidate his removal, claiming that his tenure was lawfully renewed at an NEC meeting held in Asaba, Delta State in April 2023, which was monitored by INEC.
The court, however, found that Abure’s tenure had since lapsed and affirmed the caretaker arrangement as lawful.
This judgment is expected to bring a temporary resolution to the protracted leadership dispute, though political observers anticipate possible appeals from the Abure faction.
