The leadership crisis within the Labour Party took a decisive turn on Tuesday as the Court of Appeal delivered a ruling on its disputed national structure.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed a suit filed by Julius Abure challenging the legitimacy of the Nenadi Usman-led leadership of the Labour Party.
A three-member panel unanimously upheld the January 21 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, which affirmed the legitimacy of the 29-member caretaker committee led by Sen. Nenadi Usman.
The lower court had relied on a Supreme Court decision of April 4, 2025, which held that Abure’s tenure as National Chairman had expired, and ordered INEC to recognise Usman and her committee as the party’s leadership.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, with Justices Abba Mohammed and Eberechi Nyesom-Wike concurring, held that the Supreme Court had already settled the dispute.
The court also ruled that the trial court acted within its powers in directing INEC, describing the caretaker arrangement as necessary to fill a leadership vacuum.
It dismissed Abure’s claims of denial of fair hearing, accusing him of abuse of court process and forum shopping over issues already decided by the apex court.
The appellate court held that the appeal lacked merit, describing it as an abuse of judicial process, and affirmed the lower court’s decision in its entirety.
Justice Oyewumi also awarded a cost of N10 million against Abure for wasting the court’s time on a settled matter.
