..Abure remains authentic party chairman- Obi ex vice insits
The leadership crisis within Nigeria’s Labour Party (LP) shows no signs of resolution after Datti Baba-Ahmed, Peter Obi’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, publicly affirmed Julius Abure as the party’s legitimate national chairman.
Speaking during a national television interview on Tuesday, Baba-Ahmed dismissed the opposing faction, supported by Obi, Abia State Governor Alex Otti, and Senator Nnena Umeh (Interim National Chairman) as lacking constitutional validity.
His stance relies on April’s Supreme Court ruling, which both sides have interpreted differently.
While Baba-Ahmed insists the judgment solidifies Abure’s position, Obi’s camp maintains it invalidates the current leadership.
Their positions mark a clear fracture between Obi and his former running mate, escalating tensions in a party already struggling with internal divisions.
Spear News reports that Baba-Ahmed paid a surprise visit to the national headquarters of Labour Party where he attended the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Julius Abure-led faction of the LP in Abuja.
At the meeting, he announced his interest in contesting the 2027 presidential election.
He acknowledged attending a gathering organized by Abia State Governor Alex Otti in Umuahia, during which Nenadi Usman was named the Labour Party’s interim chairperson.
Yet he described the decision taken Obi and Otti as unconditional.
The group held its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting over the weekend, ratifying Usman’s continuation as acting chair and appointing Senator Darlington Nkwocha as provisional National Secretary.
Meanwhile the Obi led faction of the has slammed its 2023 vice, Baba-Ahmed, for allegedly defying a Supreme Court ruling for recognising Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman.
In a statement issued Wednesday 23rd July, by the Special Adviser to Media to Senator Nedadi, Ken Oluma Asogwa, the party’s faction under Senator Nenadi Usman warned that Baba-Ahmed’s actions risked undermining the judiciary’s authority and sowing division within the opposition party.
The controversy stems from Baba-Ahmed’s recent appearance at a NEC meeting convened by Abure, where he was said to have referred to Abure as the party’s “substantive” leader.
The academic and politician doubled down on this position during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily earlier the same day, further inflaming tensions within the already fractured party.
“While Dr. Baba-Ahmed, like every Nigerian, is entitled to his personal opinions and freedom of association, it is imperative to state that the leadership question within the Labour Party has been conclusively settled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” the party’s statement read.
The dispute over the Labour Party’s leadership dates back to an April 2025 Supreme Court ruling that has left both factions of the party claiming that the ruling was in their favour.
This verdict, according to the rival faction of the party, emphasised, was final and binding, leaving no room for Abure’s continued claim to the chairmanship. The court’s decision upheld Senator Nenadi Usman’s leadership as the legitimate interim chairman pending a national convention.
Baba-Ahmed’s refusal to distance himself from Abure has drawn sharp criticism from the party’s mainstream faction, which views his stance as a direct challenge to the Supreme Court’s authority. “The acceptance of and adherence to the finality of the judgements of the Supreme Court has never been, and will never be, a matter of choice but compulsion,” the party stated.
The Labour Party acknowledged Baba-Ahmed’s stated desire for reconciliation but insisted that such efforts must be “rooted in truth, guided by respect for the rule of law, and anchored on the existing legal realities.”
Senator Usman’s faction has called for calm, urging members to remain “steadfast and resolute” as it seeks to reconcile aggrieved members. However, Baba-Ahmed’s alignment with Abure suggests that internal rifts may persist, complicating the party’s efforts to position itself as a credible alternative to the APC.
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