The long-running Labour Party leadership battle has ended as the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday kicked Julius Abure out as National Chairman and firmly handed control of the party to Senator Nenadi Usman.
Delivering judgement, Justice Peter Lifu leaned on the April 4, 2025 ruling of the Supreme Court to declare the former Minister of Finance as the rightful leader of the party.
In a decisive move, the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman–led Caretaker Committee as “the only valid authority to represent the Labour Party,” pending the conduct of a national convention.
The ruling arose from suit THC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025 filed by Usman, with Abure and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) listed as defendants.
Justice Lifu ruled that Abure’s tenure had clearly expired, brushing aside his claim that the matter was an internal party affair beyond the court’s reach. According to the judge, the caretaker arrangement was “a necessity” flowing directly from the Supreme Court’s decision.
The court recalled that Abure was removed after a deepening leadership crisis rocked the party, prompting the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee to dissolve his leadership and set up a 29-member caretaker committee headed by Usman.
That crucial decision was taken at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting hosted in Umuahia by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti. The meeting that sealed Abure’s fate was chaired by his former ally and the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Refusing to go quietly, Abure had approached the Federal High Court to reclaim his seat, insisting he was lawfully elected Acting National Chairman in March 2021 and later confirmed at the party’s convention in Nnewi in March 2024.
He also argued that the party under his watch produced governorship candidates in Edo and Ondo states.
While the High Court and Court of Appeal initially backed Abure and ordered INEC to recognise him, the Supreme Court crushed those victories, overturning the rulings in a judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro.
The apex court not only upheld Nenadi Usman’s appeal but also dismissed Abure’s cross-appeal, warning political parties to respect their own rules and urging officials whose tenures have expired to vacate office without drama.
