Eshioromeh Sebastian in Abuja
A High Court in Abia State has issued an interim injunction barring the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) from proceeding with its scheduled ward, local government, and state congresses.
The order, which was granted on 26th November 2025, came just days after the faction staged a major show of internal strength under the observation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Abure-led faction has, however, dismissed the significance of the court’s order, insisting it will have no effect on their planned congresses scheduled for this week.
The court ruling, delivered in Isiala Ngwa in suit No: HIN/47/2025, followed an application by Hon. (Sir) Emmanuel Nwaeze Otti. It restrains Abure and his National Working Committee (NWC) from conducting the party congresses they had recently ratified.
This suit directly counters the momentum built by the Abure faction during its recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Friday, 28th November.
The meeting, attended by officials from the INEC, had reaffirmed Abure’s leadership and approved a timetable for congresses scheduled to commense this week.
The court order directly undermines a central resolution from a large-scale National Executive Council meeting convened by the Abure faction in Abuja on Friday, 28th November, which was attended by members of the Abure-led National Working Committee, national officers, state chairmen, and the 2023 vice-presidential candidate Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed.
The NEC meeting passed several significant resolutions, including the formal reaffirmation of the National Working Committee elected at the party’s convention in Nnewi on 27th March 2024, solidifying Barrister Julius Abure as National Chairman.
It also filled key vacancies, most notably appointing Oluwafemi Abayomi Arabambi as the new National Vice Chairman for the South West.
Crucially, the NEC ratified the decision to conduct the Ward, Local Government, and State Congresses across Nigeria—the very exercises now suspended by the court.
However, in an official statement, the Peter Obi led- faction headed by its interim National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, the faction interim National Publicity Secretary, Ife Salako, declared the planned congresses “null and void” and urged members nationwide to disregard them.
The statement also called upon the Inspector-General of Police, named as the 6th Respondent in the suit, to arrest and prosecute anyone involved in organising or participating in the unauthorised exercises.
Furthermore, the faction aligned with Peter Obi advised INEC—the 7th Respondent—to dissociate itself from the congresses, warning that participation would damage the commission’s reputation.
The statement emphasised that the legitimate party leadership, which it identified as being under Senator Nenadi Usman, would inform INEC of its official activities in due course.
Reacting to the information, the National Publicity Secretary of the Abure-led NWC, Obiora Ifoh, in a statement on Monday, accused the Obi faction of attempting to mislead Nigerians.
“They are misinforming Nigerians as usual. The interim order is only for Abia State. The leadership of the Labour Party has called on its members across the 35 states of the federation, with the exception of Abia state, to troop out en masse and elect their leadership in all wards, Local Government Areas and state chapters,” he said.
Ifoh added, “No court in Nigeria has ordered the cancellation of the congresses by our party.
“Rather, a group of dissidents working for some suspended and expelled members of our party went forum shopping and succeeded in getting a rural court in Abia State to stop our congresses in the state.”
He accused the opposing camp of panic following INEC’s recognition of Abure, saying, “They are portraying the obvious signs of the last kick of a dying horse. A few days ago, on realising that the train was leaving them behind, they shamelessly rushed to INEC to submit the outcome of their July illegal meeting in November.”
He also maintained that the Supreme Court had already validated Abure’s leadership.
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