Victor EzejaSenator Representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, Victor Umeh, has stated that the Supreme Court ruling on the Labour Party leadership crisis means that Julius Abure is no longer the national chairman of the party.
Senator Umeh, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, stated that by the ruling of the Supreme Court, the door has been shut on Abure.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Labour Party has been embroiled in a leadership crisis for the last one year, with Abure insisting on being the authentic national chairman.
The apex court ruling last week struck out the cross-appeal filed by Abure and also set aside the order made by the lower courts that Abure should be recognsed as the party leader.
Umeh argued that the implication of that declaration is that Abure has ceased to be the national chairman of the Labour Party.
Umeh, a former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and an experienced politician and party administrator, clarified that what led to the leadership dispute in the first place was Abure’s refusal to abide by a consent judgement made in 2022 where it was agreed that he should lead Labour Party into the 2023 general election and thereafter conduct ward, local government and state congresses and an all-inclusive national convention to elect new party leaders.
He said Abure didn’t follow the procedure agreed on and went ahead to conduct a national convention in March 2024, which, according to him, is not valid.
The Anambra lawmaker said Abure’s tenure had expired since June 2024, hence the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise his leadership.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Verdict: Confusion As Labour Party Faction Insists Abure Remains National Chairman
He said the refusal of INEC to recognise Abure’s leadership prompted other statutory members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, including Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, to convene a meeting in September 2024 in Umuahia, where a caretaker committee headed by former finance minister and lawmaker, Senator Nenadi Usman, was set up.
According to Umeh, Abure took INEC to the High Court, where he got a favourable judgment that ordered the electoral body to recognise him as the party’s national chairman. The judgment was also upheld by the Court of Appeal.
READ ALSO: Labour Party Appoints Usman Acting National Chairperson
However, the Supreme Court, while ruling on the appeal filed by Nenadi Usman and Darlington Nwokocha, quashed the rulings of the lower courts that recognised Abure as the national chairman.
But the apex Court’s judgment has been interpreted differently by the Abure’s faction and Senator Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee.
Abure is insisting that he remains the national chairman and that the apex court judgment didn’t expressly state that he ceases to be national chairman and warned that any parallel leadership of the party is an exercise in futility.
The party leaders convened a NEC meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, where Usman was appointed as acting national chairperson. The party leaders, including Governor Otti, presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, his running mate, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and other elected officials, later proceeded to INEC national headquarters to brief the commission on the new development.
On the way forward, Umeh said the first thing to do is to accept what is clearly written in the apex court judgment that the order earlier made to INEC to recognise Abure as national chairman of the Labour Party has been quashed. “What that simply means is that Julius Abure is no longer the national chairman of the Labour Party. That’s what the Supreme Court has done,” Umeh added.
Commenting on Abure’s refusal to back down, the Anambra senator said: “Maybe Abure is now the West African Court of Appeal because he has now defied the order made by the Supreme Court. The door has been shut on him.”
Umeh said the only thing left for Abure to do is to reflect on the admonition given to him by the Supreme Court, “that officers of a party should be humble enough to leave office when their tenure expires.”
He said Abure knows his tenure has expired and urged him to embrace the Nenadi Usman-led committee and other stakeholders for the party to move forward.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
