The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the list of candidates submitted by the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) for the August 16, 2025, nationwide by-elections and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council polls, marking a major win for the faction loyal to Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti.
The move is widely seen as a formal derecognition of Abure’s leadership and an affirmation of the Supreme Court’s April 4, 2025, judgment, which has been interpreted by the opposing Labour Party faction as disqualifying Abure from parading himself as national chairman.
The Nenadi Usman-led faction of the party, which is aligned with Obi and Otti, welcomed the decision as a vindication of its position.
Speaking through her media aide, Ken Asogwa, Usman said: “Though it’s unfortunate that the Labour Party’s candidates under Abure are missing from the list, it’s heartwarming to see that INEC is beginning to give effect to the Supreme Court judgment which affirmed Senator Nenadi Usman as the authentic chairman of the Labour Party.
“We urge INEC to take further steps by officially recognising Senator Usman as the valid chairman of the party.”
However, the Abure faction described the action as “unlawful” and a “clear abuse of power”.
In a statement, Obiora Ifoh, national publicity secretary of the Abure-led group, said the party was aware of its rights under the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, insisting that no court had removed the faction from leadership.
“INEC has no power to stop us from sponsoring candidates or select which elections our party can participate in.
“The April 4 judgment only ruled on jurisdiction and did not address the core issues. The court did not empower INEC to meddle in our party’s internal affairs,” Ifoh said.
He urged the commission to reverse its decision and include their candidates on the final list.
Recall that none of the primaries conducted by Abure’s group was monitored by INEC.
INEC had also excluded the faction from its recent quarterly meeting with political parties, and had previously maintained that Abure’s tenure ended in June 2023.