INEC RECOGNISES NENADI USMAN-LED LABOUR PARTY FOLLOWING COURT ORDER
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By: Sefiu Ajape
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised the Labour Party (LP) National Working Committee (NWC) led by Nenadi Usman.
INEC said the recognition followed a court order mandating the electoral body to do so.
Checks on the INEC website as of Friday showed that the commission has now listed Usman as the caretaker committee chairperson of the Labour Party.
Other members of the NWC include Senator Darlington Nwokocha (National Secretary); Hamisu Santuraki (National Treasurer); Aisha Madije (National Financial Secretary); and Eric Ifere (National Legal Adviser).
The development adds another layer to the ongoing battle for leadership of the Labour Party, one of Nigeria’s opposition parties.
On January 21, the Federal High Court, Abuja, recognised the Usman-led NWC of the Labour Party, sacking Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman.
Justice Peter Lifu based his ruling on the verdict of the Supreme Court declaring Nenadi Usman as the authentic leader of the Labour Party.
He directed INEC to recognise the Usman-led NWC as the party’s legally recognised authority until the conduct of the next party convention.
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According to Justice Lifu, the evidence before the court showed that Abure’s tenure as Labour Party national chairman had ended.
While dismissing the matter as a non-justiciable internal party affair, he said the establishment of the Caretaker Committee was “a necessity” arising from the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling.
Following the ruling, the Abure-led group in the LP vowed to appeal the Federal High Court decision.
The group’s spokesman, Obiorah Ifoh, said, “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 added that the Court of Appeal had previously affirmed Abure’s NWC as the authentic leadership of the party.
“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 said.
The internal disputes in the party date back to the aftermath of the 2023 elections, where LP presidential candidate Peter Obi polled over six million votes.
Ahead of the 2027 elections, Obi declared for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), leaving the Labour Party to appoint Governor Alex Otti of Abia State as its national leader.
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