Court Removes Abure, Recognises Nenadi Usman As Labour Party Leader
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has removed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) and formally recognised the leadership of a Caretaker Committee headed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the ruling on Wednesday, grounding his decision on a Supreme Court judgment of April 4, 2025, which held that Abure could not lawfully remain in office after the expiration of his tenure.
The court ruled that evidence before it clearly showed Abure’s tenure as national chairman had elapsed and that the apex court had already validated the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the legitimate leadership of the party.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, Justice Lifu consequently ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise the Caretaker Committee chaired by Senator Usman as the only lawful authority representing the Labour Party, pending the conduct of a national convention.
The judgment followed a leadership tussle within the party, after the Caretaker Committee instituted legal action against Abure and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the control of the party.
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Justice Lifu rejected Abure’s argument that the matter was an internal party affair beyond judicial intervention, holding instead that the establishment of the Caretaker Committee was a direct consequence of a Supreme Court directive and therefore justiciable.
The court noted that the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had earlier resolved to remove Abure following a prolonged leadership crisis. The decision led to the constitution of a 29-member Caretaker Committee, chaired by Senator Usman.
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That resolution emerged from an expanded stakeholders’ meeting hosted in Umuahia by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Abure, dissatisfied with his removal, approached the Federal High Court seeking validation of his position, arguing that he was lawfully elected acting chairman in 2021 and subsequently confirmed at the party’s 2024 national convention in Nnewi, Anambra State.
Although both the High Court and the Court of Appeal initially ruled in his favour, the Supreme Court overturned those decisions, nullifying Abure’s claim to the office.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, the apex court upheld the appeal filed by Senator Usman and the Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Darlington Nwokocha, while dismissing Abure’s cross-appeal.
The Supreme Court further admonished political parties to strictly adhere to their constitutions and urged party officials whose tenures have expired to vacate office accordingly.