The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday sacked Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, the court relied on the April 4, 2025, verdict of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to declare a former Minister of Finance, Esther Nenadi Usman, as the valid leader of the party.
Justice Lifu consequently ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as “the only valid authority to represent the Labour Party” pending the conduct of a national convention.
The judgment followed a suit marked THC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, filed by Usman before the court. Apart from Abure, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was also joined as a defendant in the case.
Justice Lifu held that the evidence before the court clearly established that Abure’s tenure as national chairman of the party had elapsed.
While rejecting Abure’s argument that the dispute was an internal party affair and therefore non-justiciable, the court ruled that the setting up of the Labour Party Caretaker Committee was “a necessity” arising from the Supreme Court’s decision.
Following a prolonged leadership crisis in the Labour Party, the National Executive Committee resolved to remove Abure as chairman and constituted a 29-member caretaker committee, with Usman as chair.
The decision was reached at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting hosted in Umuahia by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Dissatisfied, Abure approached the Federal High Court seeking validation of his position. In an affidavit supporting his suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024), he argued that he was lawfully elected acting chairman in 2021 and later emerged substantive chairman at the party’s national convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, in March 2024.
He also told the court that under his leadership, the party produced candidates for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
Although both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal initially ruled in his favour and ordered INEC to recognise him, those decisions were later overturned by the Supreme Court.
In its lead judgment prepared by Justice Inyang Okoro, the apex court upheld the appeal filed by Usman and the Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Darlington Nwokocha, while dismissing Abure’s cross-appeal.
The Supreme Court also admonished political parties to strictly abide by their constitutions and rules, urging party officials whose tenures have expired to vacate office.