Supreme Court removes Abure as LP national chairperson, Senator Nenadi hails judgement
Supreme Court removes Abure as LP national chairperson, Senator Nenadi hails judgement
By Idun Maximus
The Labour Party (LP) may witness some level of stability now as the Supreme Court, on Friday, set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which recognised Julius Abure as the national chairperson of the party.
Senator Nenadi Usman, Chairman of the caretaker committee of the Labour party, applauded the Supreme Court Judgement, which declared the suit filed by her against Barrister Julius Abure-led LP NWC as meritorious.
AbeyaNews reports that a five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to have affirmed Abure as chairman of the LP since the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
It held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The court upheld the appeal filed against the judgement by Nenadi Usman, who was appointed the caretaker chairperson of the party in September 2024, and one other.
Reacting to the Supreme Court judgement, the LP Caretaker Committee Chairman in a statement on Friday said it was important to emphasize that this is not a time for triumphalism as there was no victor and no vanquished.
She said: “What matters most is our shared commitment to the ideals and aspirations of the Labour Party and the Nigerian people.
“We must now come together, united in purpose and vision, to move the party forward.”
Senator Nenadi, however, added that the Labour Party remains one indivisible family, steadfast in its mission to create a New Nigeria founded on justice, equity, and people-centered governance.
“We call on all party members, supporters, and stakeholders to remain calm, focused, and committed to the democratic ideals that bind us”, she declared.
Earlier in April 2023, the FCT High Court issued an order restraining Mr Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the party.
While ruling on an ex parte application, Hamza Muazu, the judge, also restrained Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary; Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary; and Mr Opara from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
On September 4, Ms Usman was appointed to chair a 29-member caretaker committee after Governor Alex Otti of Abia State convened a stakeholders’ meeting of the party in Umuahia.
Peter Obi, LP’s presidential candidate in 2023, and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate, were among the top party members who attended the meeting.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had also invalidated Mr Abure’s leadership, saying the national convention violated the constitution and Electoral Act.
The electoral body said the party failed to meet legal requirements for holding the convention, insisting that Abure’s tenure as LP national chair expired in June 2024.
However, in a judgement on 8 October 2024, the Federal High Court affirmed the Abure-led leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the party executives.
The judge, Emeka Nwite, had ordered INEC to recognise Mr Abure as the legitimate chairman of the party.
