The National Chairman of Nigeria’s Labour Party (LP), Nenadi Usman, has publicly urged her predecessor, Julius Abure, and his supporters to pursue leadership roles through the party’s upcoming national congress, amid a prolonged leadership dispute. This call follows a Federal High Court ruling in January that formally removed Abure as National Chairman.
The court, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, based its decision on a Supreme Court verdict from April 4, 2025, which declared Usman the legitimate leader of the LP. The judgment ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize the caretaker committee led by Usman as “the only valid authority” to represent the party pending a national convention. Despite this, Abure and his faction have refused to step down, maintaining in a recent statement that they remain in control of the party secretariat.
Usman made her appeal during a high-level stakeholders’ summit in Abuja on Wednesday, an event themed “Reuniting the Labour Party Family: consolidating strength for sustainable political impact.” Addressing the gathering at the party’s national secretariat, she emphasized the need to set aside personal interests for the party’s collective good. “I call on everyone to please put selfish interest aside, and put the interest of the party in front. Come and let’s work together,” Usman stated.
She offered a clear pathway for reconciliation, directing aggrieved members, including Abure, to contest positions democratically at the national congress. “If anybody feels strongly that he must occupy any position in the party congresses, go and contest election,” she said. “If you win, you will be declared a winner, and you will come and be the leader of the party.”
The standoff highlights a critical rift within one of Nigeria’s prominent political parties. While the court has affirmed Usman’s caretaker committee as the lawful interim leadership, the continued defiance by Abure’s faction creates uncertainty over the LP’s operational authority and its preparations for the national congress. The event, intended to foster unity, instead underscored the deep divisions. The party’s ability to conduct a credible, unifying national convention now hinges on whether the two factions can agree on a process acceptable to all, a step considered vital for the LP’s cohesion and future electoral strategy.
