Factional National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, on Tuesday, rejected a judgment of the Court of Appeal, describing it as unacceptable and vowing to challenge it at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Abure, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, dismissed the appellate court’s ruling, which affirmed the leadership of Nenadi Usman, insisting it ran contrary to established legal principles and party procedures.
He argued that party leadership issues remain internal matters beyond the scope of judicial interference, maintaining that the court’s decision did not align with existing legal precedents.
“We have seen what transpired today at the Appeal Court and we want to say very clearly that the judgment is not acceptable to all of us in the Labour Party led by my humble self.
“I want to say very clearly that the judgment is against all known principles of law. The courts, the Supreme Court and all courts in Nigeria have stated very clearly that the issues of leadership of a political party is an internal affair of a political party.
“It is also not true and I disagree when people say that the tenure of this executive has expired. That is untrue and very unacceptable to us,” he stated.
He stressed that the party’s convention in Nnewi on March 27, 2024, produced a valid leadership expected to run for four years.
According to him, the court failed to properly consider this in reaching its conclusion.
He said, “I want to say that the court today didn’t look at that before arriving at the conclusion that the tenure has expired. I must also say clearly that the Umuahia meeting, which produced the Caretaker Committee, was also against the Labour Party constitution.
“It is only the National Chairman and Secretary of a political party who have the power to convene any NEC meeting of any sort. Let me state clearly that we are going to appeal that decision.
“Today’s decision of the Appeal Court is not acceptable to us and we reject it in its entirety. We have put our legal team together and we are going to file an appeal and move to the Supreme Court.”
The ruling marks a major setback for Abure’s faction, coming on the heels of a series of legal and political developments that have tilted recognition in favour of Usman’s camp.
Earlier, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja unanimously dismissed Abure’s appeal, describing it as unconvincing and lacking legal foundation.
The court upheld the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, which had affirmed Usman’s leadership.
The crisis reached a decisive turning point two months ago when the Independent National Electoral Commission formally recognised the Usman-led National Caretaker Committee as the authentic leadership of the party, acting on the directive of the Federal High Court.
The commission’s move followed weeks of intense internal wrangling, parallel leadership claims, and protracted court battles that have dogged the party since the 2023 general elections.
As part of the changes, INEC updated its records, replacing Abure’s name with that of Usman as Acting National Chairman on its official platform.
Despite the mounting legal setbacks, Abure’s decision to approach the Supreme Court signals that the protracted battle for control of the Labour Party is far from over, setting the stage for a final judicial showdown that could determine the party’s leadership structure ahead of future electoral contests.
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