A caretaker committee of Nigeria’s Labour Party (LP) has accused a rival faction of vandalising the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, escalating an internal leadership dispute.
The allegation comes from the Nenadi Usman-led committee, which was installed as the party’s interim leadership following a Federal High Court ruling last week. That judgment recognised Nenadi Usman as the Interim National Chairman, a decision that prompted her faction, backed by Abia State Governor Alex Otti, to physically take control of the secretariat on Tuesday.
According to a statement posted on the Nenadi faction’s official X account on Wednesday, individuals aligned with the opposing Julius Abure-led faction conducted the attack overnight. “Former and expelled Julius Abure led hoodlums to vandalize our National HQ and pulled down our billboard. Very sad,” the post stated, alleging the destruction of property including a prominent billboard bearing Nenadi’s image.
The incident underscores the deepening crisis within the Labour Party, a significant opposition force in Nigerian politics. The court’s intervention last week had temporarily settled the leadership question in favour of the Nenadi committee, but the alleged destruction of property suggests the rival faction, which disputes the court’s jurisdiction and maintains Julius Abure as the legitimate chairman, is resisting the transfer of control.
No arrests or official responses from the Abure faction were immediately available. The vandalism report has raised concerns about the party’s stability ahead of future electoral cycles. Security presence at the secretariat is expected to be heightened, and the dispute is likely to continue through further legal channels as both factions contest the legitimate authority of the Labour Party. The situation highlights the persistent challenge of internal cohesion within opposition parties as they prepare for future political contests.
