The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially recognised the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party (LP) led by Nenadi Usman, in compliance with a court order.
Checks on the INEC website on Friday confirmed that Usman has been listed as the chairperson of the party’s caretaker committee. Other recognised members of the 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.
The development adds a fresh twist to the ongoing leadership crisis within the Labour Party, one of Nigeria’s major opposition parties.
On January 21, the Federal High Court in Abuja recognised the Usman-led NWC and removed Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman. Justice Peter Lifu based his decision on an earlier Supreme Court ruling, which he said affirmed Nenadi Usman as the authentic leader of the party.
The court directed INEC to recognise the Usman-led committee as the legally constituted leadership of the Labour Party pending the conduct of the party’s next national convention.
Justice Lifu noted that evidence before the court showed that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had expired. While describing leadership disputes as generally non-justiciable internal party matters, he ruled that the establishment of a caretaker committee was necessary in light of the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment.
Following the ruling, the Abure-led faction of the party announced plans to appeal the decision. Its spokesman, Obiorah Ifoh, argued that the judgment contradicted the Supreme Court’s position that courts lack the authority to appoint leadership for political parties, as such matters are internal affairs.
Ifoh further claimed that the Court of Appeal had previously affirmed Abure’s NWC as the party’s authentic leadership.
The leadership crisis within the Labour Party dates back to the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, in which the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, secured more than six million votes.
As political alignments take shape ahead of the 2027 elections, Obi has since declared for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while the Labour Party appointed Abia State Governor Alex Otti as its national leader.
