News
Court of Appeal Upholds Abure as Labour Party National Chairman

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reaffirmed Julius Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a judgment delivered on Friday by Justice Hamma Barka, the court declared that its earlier ruling from November 2024, which recognised Abure’s leadership, remains valid and unchallenged by any court.
The verdict was in response to two separate appeals filed by Nenadi Usman, leader of the LP caretaker committee, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Justice Barka stated that the appellate court did not address the internal leadership dispute, as such matters are deemed non-justiciable. He added that any judgment rendered outside a court’s jurisdiction is null and void.
As a result, the court invalidated the October 8, 2024, ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, which lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case. “We cannot say this appeal fails or succeeds because the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place,” Justice Barka ruled.
The leadership crisis within the LP stemmed from allegations of financial misconduct. In February 2024, Oluchi Oparah, the party’s national treasurer, accused Abure of misappropriating N3.5 billion—a claim Abure denied, threatening legal action. These allegations led to calls for Abure’s removal by some party members.
In April 2023, the FCT High Court issued an order barring Abure from acting as the LP national chairman. Justice Hamza Muazu also restrained other key party officials, including Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary; Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary; and Oluchi Oparah, from performing their roles as party executives.
Subsequently, on September 4, 2024, Nenadi Usman, a former senator representing Kaduna South, was appointed to chair a 29-member caretaker committee during a stakeholders’ meeting convened by Abia State Governor Alex Otti in Umuahia. The meeting was attended by prominent party figures, including Peter Obi, the 2023 LP presidential candidate, and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.
INEC further invalidated Abure’s leadership, citing constitutional and Electoral Act violations during the party’s national convention. The commission argued that Abure’s tenure had expired in June 2024 and maintained that the convention failed to meet legal requirements.
However, the Federal High Court ruled in October 2024 in favor of Abure, affirming the legitimacy of the party’s March 2024 convention in Nnewi and directing INEC to recognise Abure as the Labour Party’s national chairman.
This latest judgment by the Court of Appeal has now solidified Abure’s position as the legitimate leader of the party.
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