The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has formally recognised the Labour Party (LP) National Working Committee (NWC) led by former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, following a binding court order.
Checks on the INEC website as of Friday confirmed that Usman has now been listed as the Chairperson of the Labour Party Caretaker Committee, effectively ending weeks of uncertainty over the party’s national leadership.
Other members of the recognised NWC include Senator Darlington Nwokocha as National Secretary, Hamisu Santuraki as National Treasurer, Aisha Madije as National Financial Secretary, and Eric Ifere as National Legal Adviser.
INEC’s action stems from a January 21 ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which recognised the Usman-led leadership and removed Julius Abure as the party’s National Chairman.
In his judgment, Justice Peter Lifu relied on an earlier Supreme Court verdict, which he said established Usman as the authentic leader of the Labour Party.
The court consequently ordered INEC to recognise the Usman-led NWC as the party’s legally constituted authority pending the conduct of the next national convention.
Justice Lifu held that the materials before the court showed that Abure’s tenure had expired, stressing that the formation of a caretaker committee was unavoidable.
While dismissing the matter as a non-justiciable internal party dispute, the judge ruled that the caretaker arrangement was “a necessity” flowing from the Supreme Court’s pronouncement.
The ruling has, however, further intensified the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party.
In a swift reaction, the Abure-led faction rejected the judgment and announced plans to challenge it on appeal.
Speaking for the group, Obiorah Ifoh argued that the Federal High Court judgment contradicted the Supreme Court’s position.
“The judgment was a clear contradiction of the Supreme Court judgment, which clearly stated that no court has the power to appoint leadership for any political party and that leadership issues are internal affairs of political parties,” Ifoh said.
He further claimed that previous rulings of the Court of Appeal had validated Abure’s leadership.
“To us, this is a clear contradiction of what the Supreme Court said. The apex court held that all matters relating to the leadership of a political party are internal affairs of the party, and that has been its consistent position,” he added.
The Labour Party’s internal crisis dates back to the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, in which its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, polled over six million votes nationwide, emerging as a major opposition force.
As the party looks toward the 2027 general elections, the crisis deepened after Obi declared for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), prompting the Labour Party to appoint Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, as its national leader.
With INEC’s recognition of the Usman-led NWC, the struggle for control of the Labour Party appears far from over, as legal and political battles continue to reshape the party’s future.
