The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Senator Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee as the lawful leadership of the Labour Party (LP).
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu relied on the April 4, 2025 decision of the Supreme Court to affirm Senator Usman, a former Minister of Finance, as the legitimate head of the party's caretaker committee pending the conduct of a national convention.
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The court directed INEC to "forthwith recognise the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the only valid authority to represent the Labour Party".
Justice Lifu held that the evidence before the court showed that Julius Abure's tenure as national chairman had elapsed, dismissing his argument that the dispute was an internal party matter and therefore non-justiciable.
According to the court, the constitution of the caretaker committee was a "necessity" arising from the directive of the Supreme Court.
Abure had earlier approached the Federal High Court seeking to validate his position as national chairman following his removal.
While both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal initially upheld Abure's claims and ordered INEC to recognise him, the Supreme Court later overturned the decisions.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Usman and the secretary of the caretaker committee, Hon Darlington Nwokocha, and dismissed Abure's cross-appeal.
The Supreme Court also admonished political parties to adhere strictly to their constitutions in the appointment of officers, urging party officials whose tenures had expired to vacate office when due.
Wednesday's judgment mirrors an earlier decision by the INEC to reject candidates for the FCT area council elections submitted by the Abure-led faction. INEC had argued that a Supreme Court judgment had removed Abure as national chairman, and that he therefore lacked the locus standi to conduct the primaries that produced the candidates.
Abure faction to appeal
Reacting to the judgment, the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party said it would immediately appeal the Federal High Court's decision.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the faction faulted the ruling, alleging that the court misinterpreted the April 4, 2025 judgment of the Supreme Court in recognising Senator Usman as chairperson of the caretaker committee.
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The faction described the judgment as contradictory, arguing that the Supreme Court had held that courts lacked the powers to appoint leadership for political parties, as such matters remained internal affairs.
The statement urged party members to remain calm, assuring them that the leadership would pursue all legal avenues to protect what it described as the party's interests, while warning that the Labour Party was "not for sale" and would not surrender its leadership under any circumstances.
