By Isaac Samuel
With the judgment of the Supreme Court on Friday, April 4, affirming that the leadership of a political party is the internal matter of the party which the court does not have jurisdiction on, Senator Nenadi Usman from Kaduan State has resumed full control of the party as its care taker committee chairman. In a statement issued soon after the Supreme Court judgment, Senator Usman welcomed the court judgement and urged all party members and stakeholders to respect the decisions ‘’made through our internal mechanisms and to work collaboratively towards the party’s objectives’’.
Many members of the party, including the its House of Representatives caucus have also hailed the Supreme Court’s judgment, which removed Julius Abure from his position as national chairman of the party. According to the caucus, the ruling serves as a warning to leaders who play ‘god’ in a democracy, where the people ought to hold the ultimate authority. The leader of the caucus, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, in a statement shortly after the Supreme Court pronouncement, Friday, described the development as a “veritable tonic for the revitalization of the party” that has been engulfed by leadership tussle in recent times.
It is not yet clear how the Supreme Court judgment will influence the party’s participation in the 2027 elections. Will Peter Obi run again, and if so, will he run on Labour Party?
The party has been wracked by leadership crisis for a few years now. At its extended stakeholders’ meeting held at the Abia State Government House, Umuahia, on Wednesday, September 4, a faction led by former presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti established a 29-member caretaker committee in January 2025, challenging Abure’s authority. The committee, chaired by Senator Nenadi Usman, asserted itself as the legitimate leadership body of the party. However, in October 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed Abure’s position as the National Chairman and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize his leadership.This decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal in January 2025, which maintained that Abure remained the legitimate National Chairman of the Labour Party. But the Supreme Court in its unanimous judgement set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which recognized Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP). A five-member panel of the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to pronounce Abure as the National Chairman of the LP, having earlier determined that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
