The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has issued a stern warning to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urging the electoral body to respect a recent court order reaffirming Abure’s leadership or risk being seen as an active saboteur of Nigeria’s democracy.
The party’s statement followed a Nasarawa State High Court ruling that dismissed a suit filed by a rival faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman, which sought to challenge Abure’s legitimacy as National Chairman.
In a strongly worded press release signed by Dr. Abayomi Arabambi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, the Labour Party accused INEC of “playing a double game by quietly supporting dissident elements within the party despite clear judicial pronouncements”.
The statement referenced the July 23, 2025, ruling by Justice Mustapha A. Ramat of the Nasarawa State High Court, which explicitly directed INEC to recognise Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as the Labour Party’s lawful leaders pending the final resolution of the case. The court further mandated INEC to comply with all decisions emanating from the Abure-led executive, a directive the party insists must be obeyed without further delay.
The Labour Party’s frustration stems from what it describes as INEC’s “unlawful exclusion” of its leadership in recent electoral processes, including the Edo bye-election. The party noted that INEC had repeatedly attempted to rely on a disputed counter-affidavit—previously rejected by multiple courts, including the Supreme Court—to justify its refusal to engage with the Abure faction. According to the statement, this pattern of behaviour suggests a coordinated effort between INEC and certain “power-hungry renegades” within the party to undermine its stability ahead of future elections.
The press release also took aim at Senator Nenadi Usman and her allies, dismissing their recent celebrations as misguided and premature. The court had thrown out Usman’s case on jurisdictional grounds, reaffirming the Supreme Court’s earlier position that internal party disputes should be resolved through the party’s own mechanisms.
The Labour Party questioned the motives of those celebrating the party’s exclusion from elections, asking, “Are they not playing into the hands of the opposition? Who benefits from this saga if not those who want to see the Labour Party destroyed?”
The statement singled out Peter Obi and Alex Otti as the “greatest losers” in the ongoing crisis, suggesting that the internal strife had weakened the party’s political influence at a critical time. While not elaborating further, the Labour Party’s leadership implied that the factional battles had diverted attention from the party’s broader objectives, leaving key figures like Obi and Otti without a strong platform.
Despite the tensions, the Abure-led faction expressed confidence that the party would emerge stronger from the crisis. It called on members to remain calm and vigilant, assuring them that the judiciary would ultimately uphold the rule of law. The statement also urged Nigerians to hold INEC accountable, warning that any attempt to manipulate party recognition processes could set a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.
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