ANAYO EZUGWU x-rays the latest development in the crisis rocking Labour Party (LP), following the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which reaffirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the party
Since after the 2023 general election, the Labour Party has been struggling to replicate the achievements that made it win a governorship seat in Abia State, eight seats in the Senate, 35 seats in the House of Representatives and 39 seats in the state Houses of Assembly.
The party has failed to put up a good fight in the off-season elections so far in the country and this has been attributed to the leadership crisis rocking the party.
The party has been in and out of courtrooms with many injunctions over its national chairmanship position. The Court of Appeal ruling on January 17, is the latest on the crisis within the party. The ruling validated the party’s March 2024 national convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, and confirmed Julius Abure as the national chairman of Labour Party.
The court presided over by Justice Hamma Barka, relied on a prior judgement delivered on November 13, 2024, in Appeal Number CA/Abj/ CV/1172/2024 between the Labour Party (appellant) and Chief Olusola Ebiseni along with the Independent National Electoral Commission (respondents). The three-member panel, led by Justice Barka, ruling on two separate appeals filed by Senator Esther Usman, the caretaker committee, and INEC, held that Labour Party’s leadership issues were not justiciable.
The court further ruled that any actions taken outside its jurisdiction were null and void. Consequently, the judgement of the Federal High Court, delivered on October 8, 2024, by Justice Emeka Nwite, was deemed invalid and subsequently struck out. But the 29-member caretaker committee has warned Julius Abure to stop presenting himself as the party’s national chairman.
In a statement, the committee, led by Usman, declared that they remain in charge of the Labour Party’s affairs by the mandate entrusted to them by party stakeholders at an emergency convention. They criticised the judgement and insisted on retaining their mandate. Among other grievances, they alleged the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction, made errors, and violated their right to a fair hearing.
The statement read: “As the duly recognised National Caretaker Committee Chairman and Secretary of the Labour Party, we, on behalf of ourselves and other members, deem it necessary to issue this press release to clarify and set the record straight. “The Court of Appeal affirmed that Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, filed before the Federal High Court by Julius Abure, concerned a leadership dispute over which the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction.
The Federal High Court erred and acted without jurisdiction by entertaining the leadership dispute brought before it by Julius Abure. It also violated our right to a fair hearing by failing to consider our counter-affidavit opposing the suit before it..”
Recall that party stakeholders led by Mr. Peter Obi and the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, convened a meeting in Umuahia where they announced the dissolution of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) and the appointment of the Senator Usman-led 29-member Interim National Committee to steer the party’s affairs for 90 days.
The committee was also given the task of organising congresses from the ward to local government and state levels which will culminate in a national convention to elect new national leaders. Following this decision, INEC announced that it would not deal with Abure-led NWC because it didn’t monitor the Nnewi Convention.
The Commission argued that the convention was conducted in breach of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, INEC’s regulations and guidelines for political parties 2022, and the Labour Party constitution of 2019. Recall also that in February, Oluchi Oparah, National Treasurer of the party, accused Abure of misappropriating N3.5 billion.
Abure refuted the claim and threatened to sue Oparah, but party members demanded the removal of the national chairman. In April 2023, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the Labour Party.
The protracted nature of the crisis within the party can be attributed to a combination of leadership struggles, ideological differences, lack of internal democracy, and external pressures that have hindered the party’s ability to resolve its challenges.
Now that the court has ruled, I think everybody will abide by that and face the 2027 general election squarely
The term of the NWC had ended on June 10, 2023, and there was a need for a convention to choose new leaders or renew the mandate of the Abure-led NWC. The expected convention did not happen and the party technically went into a leadership vacuum even though Abure was still parading himself as the national chairman.
He was returned as national chairman under questionable circumstances at a convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State. Many stakeholders and interest groups raised eyebrows and kicked against the convention, citing its non-inclusiveness and faulty process.
The biggest flaw that marred the convention in Nnewi, observers say, was that it was not preceded by congresses at the ward, local government and state levels where delegates for the national convention ought to have been elected.
The Nnewi convention was not only held without consultation, but the national officers elected at the event also ran contrary to the party’s zoning arrangement. Indications are that the party intends to retain the zoning of its presidential ticket to the South in 2027. However, the emergence of Abure who hails from Edo State as national chairman would disrupt the arrangement.
As the crisis festers, Abure has expressed optimism that the internal crisis rocking the party will be resolved well ahead of the 2027 general elections. He declared that he was prepared to reconcile with Governor Otti, Peter Obi, and other aggrieved chieftains of the party.
He said: “Our misunderstanding has been exaggerated and must be seen as a family affair, which would be resolved amicably within the family. I want to say essentially that what we have are just squabbles within the party. For me, there are no hard feelings. As I said earlier, this is an opportunity for those who may have one grievance or the other against the leadership of the party to come together.
“Let us reconcile our differences and chart a way forward for our party. For me, I am open to reconciliation. I believe the interest of Nigeria and the interest of the party supersede every other interest. So, it is my appeal for every aggrieved member of the party to come back for the interest of the party and the interest of Nigeria.”
When asked if their differences could be resolved on time before the 2027 electioneering campaign, Abure sounded positive. He also noted that it was normal for political parties to experience some sort of internal wrangling and healthy conflict, stressing that it would help deepen democracy.
“I am sure that very soon, all our differences will be put aside, and we will again speak authoritatively with one voice and come out stronger and very effective in the political space. There is no political party without some differences; it is a game of interests, and there will always be conflicting interests in every political environment.
I believe we will come out better and stronger. “Now, we have seen our strengths, we have also seen our weaknesses and I am sure that all of these, put together, will reshape the party and make the party better and we will perform better in future elections,” he said. National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, who spoke on the Court of Appeal ruling, said it is an indication that there is no room for factions and division in the party.
He said the target of the party is to plan and reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections. “We do not think that any member of the party would go ahead and demand alternative results after the Appeal Court has made a declaratory ruling. However, we are working to bring everyone together to see how we can move forward.
“There is no party does not have one crisis or the other and the Labour Party is not from the moon. It is also affected by one issue or the other. Whenever one or two people are gathered, there will always be some conflicts here and there. But we have passed through that since last year and have since put our crisis behind us.
“Now that the court has ruled, I think everybody will abide by that and face the 2027 general election squarely. I can tell you that we are opening our flanks to a whole lot of people. We have a team that has started mobilisation and doing a marvellous job of recruiting more people.” The legal adviser of the party, Kehinde Edun, on his part, said that Obi is still with the Abure camp.
According to hum, Obi still relates with the Abure-led leadership of the party regularly and has not at any time stated that he was leaving the party. Acknowledging that the crisis in the Labour Party is causing damage to the party, he assured members of the party that the leadership is making efforts to resolve the crisis. “We have never picked a fight with anybody.
We didn’t go to court against Nenadi, we went to court against INEC and the court resolved the dispute and they said they want to join. We have never sued any member of the party,” Edun said. But as the parties involved in the Labour Party legal tussles head to the Supreme Court, it is obvious that those calling for peace within the party are not marching their words with action in ending the protracted legal battle.
