The Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Comrade Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognise the Senator Esther Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee as the party’s legitimate leadership.
Delivering judgment, Justice Peter Lifu anchored the ruling on the April 4, 2025 decision of the Supreme Court, which he said resolved the leadership dispute in favour of Senator Usman pending the party’s next national convention.
The court held that Julius Abure’s tenure had expired and that the constitution of a caretaker committee had become unavoidable following the Supreme Court’s invalidation of earlier judgments that had favoured his continued stay in office.
Justice Lifu consequently ordered INEC to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the authorised body empowered to act for and on behalf of the Labour Party.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, filed by Senator Usman against Abure and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The court rejected Abure’s argument that the matter was purely an internal party issue, insisting that the judiciary has constitutional responsibility to interpret party constitutions and tenure limits.
The leadership crisis had earlier culminated in an expanded stakeholders’ meeting held in Umuahia, Abia State, hosted by Governor Alex Otti, where the party’s National Executive Committee removed Abure and constituted a 29-member caretaker committee headed by Senator Usman.
Meanwhile, the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has rejected the judgment and announced plans to immediately appeal at the Court of Appeal.
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, the faction described the ruling as a misinterpretation of the Supreme Court judgment and a contradiction of established judicial precedents.
The party argued that the Supreme Court had ruled that courts lack the power to appoint leadership for political parties, insisting that leadership matters remain internal party affairs.
The Abure faction also claimed procedural irregularities in the handling of the case and insisted that its March 2024 national convention lawfully reaffirmed Julius Abure as national chairman.
While urging members to remain calm, the party vowed to pursue all legal options to protect what it described as the integrity and independence of the Labour Party.
