Leadership Tussle: Abure Can Recontest As Chairman – Labour Party Chieftain Insists

The leader of the Labour Party (LP) caucus in the House of Representatives, Afam Ogene, has revealed that Julius Abure, the party’s embattled national chairman, remains eligible to seek re-election despite losing his position following a Supreme Court ruling. The apex court recently overturned a Court of Appeal decision that had recognized Abure as LP chairman, intensifying an ongoing leadership crisis within the party.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ogene clarified that while the Supreme Court judgment effectively removed Abure from his role, the door remains open for him to re-contest the position. “Exit the stage, but that does not mean leaving the Labour Party. The door is still open for him to run for election if he wants to remain as the national chairman, but the process must be followed through,” Ogene said.

He emphasized that Abure would need to await the establishment of party structures, starting from the ward level, to participate in a legitimate contest.

The ruling has deepened divisions within the LP, with key figures such as 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti forming a caretaker committee under Senator Nenadi Usman to take over leadership duties. Both factions in the dispute have claimed the Supreme Court’s decision supports their stance, fueling further controversy.

Ogene accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of supporting Abure to sow discord within the opposition party. “The APC is backing Abure to destabilize the Labour Party,” he alleged, suggesting external interference in the LP’s internal struggles.

Addressing the party’s headquarters, currently occupied by Abure’s faction, Ogene expressed confidence that the opposing group would reclaim control within days. “We are simply following due process,” he stated, signaling a forthcoming move to assert authority over the secretariat.

Meanwhile, LP has accused its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor Alex Otti of orchestrating an illicit attempt to take over the party’s structure. The allegations, leveled by LP National Secretary Umar Farouk Ibrahim, follow a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting convened by Obi and Otti, which the party leadership has branded as illegal.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ibrahim criticized the duo for leading a factional group of LP members to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja. The visit, spearheaded by Governor Otti, aimed to present INEC with a Certified True Copy of a recent Supreme Court judgment that sacked Julius Abure as LP National Chairman, barring him from holding the position.

Ibrahim described the move as a desperate bid to hijack the party’s leadership. “The mission has shown the high level of desperation of Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti in trying to hijack the structure of the party,” he said. “If really the Supreme Court decision is in their favor, why are they rushing to INEC to put undue influence on the Commission to do the wrong thing?”

He further condemned the NEC meeting, calling it an “illegal gathering” and accusing Obi and Otti of “living in an unhealthy paradise and deluding themselves.” Ibrahim also revealed that during the meeting, the faction offered Abure a “soft landing” by proposing he take up the role of Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
However, he dismissed the gesture, asserting, “Abure didn’t make himself the National Chairman… it is not about Abure but about what the structures have said. It is about the supremacy of the organs of the party and doing things right.”

The Labour Party leadership has called on its members and the public to disregard the meeting and its outcomes, urging resistance to what it deems an unlawful power grab.