The Labour Party faction loyal to Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has called for reconciliation and unity in the party following Wednesday’s judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission  to recognise the Senator Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee and effectively sacked Julius Abure as national chairman.

The Interim National Chairman of the faction, Senator Nenadi Usman, made the appeal in a statement issued by her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, describing the ruling as a critical opportunity to heal deep-seated divisions within the party rather than worsen the leadership crisis.

“We received with profound joy and relief the judgment of the Federal High Court, which ordered INEC to immediately recognise Senator Nenadi Usman’s leadership as the only valid, authentic and legitimate leadership of the Labour Party,” the statement said.

“Although the journey to this point was protracted, difficult and at times turbulent, the Labour Party urges its members and supporters not to celebrate with triumphalism. Rather, this moment should be embraced as a solemn opportunity for genuine reconciliation.”

According to Usman, the judgment should mark a turning point for the party.

“For us, it is a no victor, no vanquished moment. Let it be clearly stated that there is only one united and indivisible Labour Party in Nigeria. This judgment must mark a new beginning anchored on unity, healing and collective progress,” she said.

However, in a swift statement on Wednesday, Abure rejected the judgment, vowing to challenge it on appeal.

In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, Abure insisted that the judgment contradicted the April 2025 verdict of the Supreme Court on the party’s leadership dispute.

He described Justice Lifu’s verdict as a misinterpretation of the apex court’s decision and an unwarranted intrusion into the internal affairs of the party.

“Although we are yet to see the Certified True Copy of the judgment to fully make detailed comments, it is clear from the brief available to us that the party will appeal,” Ifoh said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court held that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had elapsed and consequently ordered INEC to recognise the caretaker committee headed by Usman pending the conduct of the party’s national convention.

Reacting to the judgment, the Otti-backed faction urged all tendencies within the party, including those dissatisfied with the ruling, to embrace dialogue in the interest of rebuilding the party.

“Accordingly, the Labour Party calls on all members who may feel aggrieved by the current state of affairs – including those against whom today’s judgment was delivered – to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue in the supreme interest of the party,” Usman said.

“We sue for peace, plead for dialogue, and seek sincere reconciliation. There is enormous work ahead in rebuilding the Labour Party into a strong, credible and virile opposition platform in Nigeria, a task that can only be accomplished in an atmosphere of unity, cohesion and mutual respect.”

As part of efforts to restore internal harmony, Usman announced plans to constitute a reconciliation mechanism.

“In furtherance of this commitment to peace and reconciliation, the party shall immediately constitute a Truce and Reconciliation Committee mandated to engage all aggrieved members and restore lasting harmony within the party,” she said.

The faction also called on INEC to fully comply with the judgment.

“As a law-abiding institution and a major stakeholder in Nigeria’s democratic process, the Labour Party calls on INEC to end all unnecessary distractions by fully complying with today’s judgment and according Senator Nenadi Usman’s leadership the formal recognition clearly and unambiguously directed by the court,” the statement added.

On its part, the Abure-led faction alleged procedural irregularities in the handling of the case, claiming it was denied fair hearing and that warning signs emerged even before judgment was delivered.

“Before today’s judgment, we had suspected it might go this way because of the body language around the court. When the matter was first filed, it was assigned to Justice Omotosho, but suddenly there was a somersault, as another similar matter was filed, the first was withdrawn and the case was reassigned to Justice Peter Lifu. That was a red flag for us,” the statement said.

The faction further alleged that the court refused to allow it respond to issues raised in a counter-affidavit before adjourning for judgment.

“The court refused us the opportunity to respond to issues raised in the counter-affidavit filed by other parties and quickly adjourned for judgment. That was the second red flag,” Ifoh said.

Abure’s camp also questioned the substance of the ruling, arguing that it contradicted established judicial precedents.

“Nigerians should remember that the Court of Appeal had pronounced Julius Abure’s National Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the party. That was what Nenadi Usman took to the Supreme Court, arguing that the courts lacked the power to determine party leadership.

“Ironically, today a Federal High Court has gone ahead to pronounce someone as caretaker national chairman of a party. So what is the judiciary turning into?” the statement queried.

The faction insisted that the Supreme Court had clearly ruled that courts lacked jurisdiction to appoint leaders for political parties and maintained that no leadership vacuum existed in the Labour Party.

“Even the Supreme Court never said our tenure had expired. It simply declined jurisdiction, holding that leadership matters are internal affairs of the party,” the statement said.

It further defended the March 2024 national convention, insisting that the tenure of the party’s executive was still subsisting at the time the convention was held.

“So for the court to say that the tenure had expired and that a vacuum existed is laughable. It is also curious how the court arrived at that conclusion without interrogating the validity and legality of the national convention held on March 27, 2024,” the statement added.

Despite the legal battle, the Abure faction urged party members to remain calm, insisting it would exhaust all legal avenues to reclaim its position.

“The party is not for sale, and no amount of financial power will make us abdicate our leadership position,” it warned.

The leadership crisis in the Labour Party followed an expanded stakeholders’ meeting held in Umuahia, Abia State, where the National Executive Committee resolved to remove Abure as national chairman and constituted a 29-member caretaker committee headed by Usman.

The meeting was hosted by Governor Otti and chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court set aside an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal that had recognised Abure as national chairman, holding that appellate courts lacked jurisdiction to determine the leadership of a political party.

Justice Lifu, relying on the subsisting position of the Supreme Court, ruled that the caretaker committee constituted by the NEC remained the only valid authority to act for and represent the Labour Party pending the conduct of a national convention.

Source: Punch.