A faction of the Labour Party, led by its National Working Committee (NWC), has formally called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Senator Nenadi Usman as the legitimate National Chairman of the party.
The party said its demand is premised on a Supreme Court judgment it argued had affirmed the end of the tenure of the previously recognized chairman, Julius Abure.
The call was made in a communiqué issued at the end of an NWC meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday, chaired by Senator Usman herself.
The communiqué was signed by Senator Darlington Nwokocha, who the faction recognizes as the National Secretary. The demand to INEC sets the stage for a potential showdown over the control of the Labour Party’s identity and electoral machinery.
The committee stated that it received with “relief and a sense of institutional clarity” an INEC press release dated 7th January 2026, which itself reaffirmed the Supreme Court’s judgment of 4th April 2025.
That Supreme Court ruling had declared that the tenure of Mr. Julius Abure as National Chairman had elapsed. Leveraging this, the NWC’s resolution now “urges INEC, in line with its press release and subsisting court judgments, to accord Senator Nenadi Usman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha all rights, recognition, and privileges attached to the office of National Chairman and National Secretary of the Labour Party.”
The Abure-led faction has consistently maintained that his tenure was extended following a 2024 meeting in Nnewi, during which he received a vote of confidence to continue in his role.
This move is the latest in a protracted leadership crisis that has divided the party. By invoking the Supreme Court’s authority and INEC’s own public statement, the Usman-led faction is seeking to solidify its claim to the party’s structure and legitimacy ahead of crucial internal elections.
The meeting also addressed other significant issues, including the recent departure of the party’s former presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi. The NWC wished Obi well in his new party but unanimously affirmed Governor Alex Chioma Otti of Abia State as the Labour Party’s new National Leader.
Furthermore, the faction declared the party “united, indivisible, and steadfast,” and reaffirmed plans to proceed with congresses and a National Convention in accordance with the party constitution. It also encouraged members nationwide to participate in an ongoing membership revalidation exercise aimed at building a 10-million-member base.
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