A Defiant Abure Talks Tough

The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party may have given itself away by calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the party’s internal crisis instead of seeking the interpretation of the Supreme Court’s judgment or relying on the Independent National Electoral Commission, which regulates political parties in Nigeria, Wale Igbintade writes

Signs that the crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) are about to end soon except the Independent National Electoral Commission urgently intervenes emerged last week when the Julius Abure-led faction of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the party’s internal crisis by restraining the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, whom it accused of threatening the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, with arrest.

Recall that the Supreme Court recently sacked Abure as the National Chairman of LP when it set aside the earlier decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal that recognised him in the position.

But since the judgment was delivered, Abure and his NWC have consistently denied that he was sacked.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the factional National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk, claimed that Governor Otti recently called for the arrest of Abure, an action he described as an overreach and a blatant disregard for party authority.

Farouk accused Otti of orchestrating multiple threats against party leaders over the past few months, and appealed to President Tinubu to rein in the governor to prevent what they described as “tyranny in a democratic system.”

He also called on well-meaning Nigerians to support their cause in preserving the party’s leadership and safeguarding its future ahead of the 2027 elections.

Penultimate week, the same faction of LP announced the purported suspension of Governor Otti and other key members of the party, including the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe; Darlington Nwokocha, Victor Afam Ogene, Amobi Ogah, and Seyi Sowunmi, from the party indefinitely for what it called anti-party activities.

Background of the Matter

Since Abure took over the leadership of the party, he has faced multiple crises. In February 2024, the LP National Treasurer accused Abure of misappropriating N3.5 billion, a claim which he denied and threatened legal action.

Earlier in April 2023, the FCT High Court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the party. While ruling on an ex parte application, Justice Hamza Muazu, also restrained Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary; Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary; and Mr. Opara from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

However, the biggest threat to Abure’s position was when INEC refused to recognise the party’s national congress held in Nnewi, where he reportedly re-emerged as the national chairman of the party.

The electoral body said the party failed to meet legal requirements for holding the convention, insisting that Abure’s tenure as LP national chair expired in June 2024.

In the absence of a validly elected national leadership, and to restore confidence in the party, Governor Otti; the presidential candidate of the party in 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi; his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed and other members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) convened a meeting in Umuahia on September 4, 2024, where they sacked the entire Abure-led NWC and appointed Nenadi Usman, a former Minister of Finance and ex-senator representing Kaduna South, to lead a 29-member caretaker committee and facilitate the election of a new party leadership within 90 days.

This led Abure to file a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, which, in a judgment delivered on October 8, 2024, affirmed his leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the party executives.

The judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ordered INEC to recognise Abure as the legitimate chairman of the party.

Upon an appeal on January 17, 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled that its earlier decision in November 2024, recognising Abure as the party’s chairman, remained valid and had not been overturned by any court.

Justice Hamma Barka, who read the lead judgment, held that the appellate court did not consider the two separate appeals filed by the appellants since they centred on party leadership, on which the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate.

The Appeal Court voided the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on October 8, 2024 on the grounds that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit.

But Usman vehemently faulted the decision and challenged it at the Supreme Court. While the appeal was pending at the apex court, Abure filed a cross-appeal.

Supreme Court Judgment

But in its judgment, the Supreme Court set aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal and held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, being an issue of internal affairs of the party.

The court, which resolved three issues submitted for determination in favour of the appellant, held that both the trial court and the Appeal Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit of this first respondent.

Specifically referring to Abure, the apex court warned political parties to respect their constitutions and internal processes, urging party officers whose tenures had expired to vacate their positions.

“In summary, both the trial court and the court below lacked jurisdiction to entertain the 1st respondent’s suit, whose main relief, as observed, was relief number five (5), treated as an appendage. As a result, the decisions of both the trial court and the court below, which recognised Barrister Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the 1st respondent, are set aside, and Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024 is struck out for want of jurisdiction.

“In the same vein, the 1st respondent’s cross-appeal in Appeal No. SC/CV/564/2025, stemming from the same judgment of the court below, is hereby dismissed.

“Before I am done, may I admonish political parties and their members to endeavor to always allow their constitutions, rules, regulations and guidelines to guide them in choosing their officers as well as candidates. That way, incessant internal rifts, which always find their way to court, would be reduced. If the constitution of a political party has prescribed duration for tenure of office of an officer, such officer should be humble enough to at the expiration of the tenure.

“In the final analysis, the appeal (filed by Usman) is meritorious and is hereby allowed,” Justice Okoro declared.

INEC Response

Surprisingly, despite being in possession of the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment, INEC, which oversights political parties in Nigeria, has remained silent.

Last week, the commission, despite the heating of the polity by Abure, said it was yet to take a decision concerning the crisis rocking the party. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, noted that as a law-abiding institution, they were carefully studying the judgment and would communicate its decision to the public in due course. When the “due course” is, nobody knows.

Perhaps, this was why, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Joe Ajaero, wrote the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, demanding the withdrawal of recognition for the Abure-led leadership of the party.

The NLC’s position aligns with INEC’s which feels that Abure’s tenure as LP national chairman had since expired.

Ajaero also revealed plans to launch a surprise takeover of party secretariats across the states—currently under the control of Abure loyalists.

“We have written to INEC, and on the day of our NEC meeting, every other thing will be decided there,” he said. “We are going to do that because that’s the way it is. Labour Party is an institutional party, owned by the trade unions.”

Many political analysts are shocked that the Abure-faction called on Tinubu, who is the national leader of a rival political party, to intervene in the opposition party’s internal crisis instead of seeking the interpretation of the Supreme Court’s judgment or relying on INEC, which regulates political parties in Nigeria.

The question agitating the minds of Nigerians is: Has the Abure-led faction not confirmed speculations in some quarters that external forces are behind the crisis in the LP, with this appeal to Tinubu to intervene?