Indications that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may have finally recognised the Julius Abure-led Labour Party (LP) emerged on Friday, as the commission monitored the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the faction held at the party’s national secretariat.
The INEC team was led by Rakiya Dattijo from its Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) Department.
A former vice-presidential candidate of the party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, was also in attendance.
The NEC, during a special meeting it convened at the Utako national secretariat of the party in Abuja, reviewed the March 27, 2024, National Convention of the party held in Nnewi, Anambra State, where the current NWC emerged, and reaffirmed all the officers produced at the convention to continue as its leaders.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Julius Abure-led Labour Party was reaffirmed by its National Executive Council (NEC) Friday.
In its resolution after the meeting, the NEC said the latest decision was in line with the April 4 judgement of the Supreme Court, which vested in political parties the power to regulate their internal affairs.
Abure, who read the communique issued at the end of the meeting, quoted a portion of the apex court’s judgement to back the stance of the NEC.
“The reason for the non-justiciability of internal disputes of a political party is simple, and that is that in the eyes of the law, a political party is a corporate entity with its constitution, rules, regulations, and guidelines which are binding on members who have joined freely have consented to be so bound (See Abegunde Vs. Ondo State House of Assembly & Ors. (2025) LPELR-24588 (SC).)
“Political Parties have put in place diverse kinds of internal dispute resolution mechanisms to handle any matter arising from disputes among members. Political parties and their members should therefore have faith in the internal dispute resolution mechanisms prescribed in their party constitution,” the court stated.
Speaking further in defence of the decision of the NEC, Abure said, “Consequent upon the above, NEC in session reaffirmed those elected as national officers of the party at the National Convention held in 2024 in Anambra State on the 27th of March 2024.”
Some of the 17 NWC members listed as having been elected at the Nnewi convention include: Abure (National Chairman); Clement Ojukwu (Deputy National Chairman); Ayo Olorunfemi (Deputy National Chairman); Esther Gulmu (Deputy National Chairman); Ibrahim Idoko National Vice Chairman (North Central); Ceekay Igarra, National Vice Chairman (South East); Anthony Ezeagwu, National Vice Chairman (South South); Umar Farouk Ibrahim (National Secretary); Rotimi Kehinde Adekunle (Deputy National Secretary); Innocent Okeke (Deputy National Secretary); Ngozi Doga (National Treasurer); Dayo Ekong (National Financial Secretary); and Obiora Ifoh (National Publicity Secretary).
Similarly, the NEC meeting, which was attended by a team from INEC, also filled all vacant positions in the NWC.
It also ratified the decision to hold ward, local government, and state congresses across the country, in addition to convening a special convention “if necessary.”
The leader of the INEC team, Dattijo, and all the members on the team, declined to comment on their presence at the meeting on the grounds that they were not there to speak but to do their work.
The Labour Party has been factionalised, with Abure leading his NWC, while former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, leads the Interim National Caretaker Committee of the party.
Both sides hold on to the same Supreme Court judgement for their legitimacy claims.
While Usman has consistently argued that the apex court’s judgement effectively ended the tenure of Abure as the chairman of the LP, Abure counters that the judgement actually vindicated his leadership, as demonstrated through the 2024 Nnewi convention.
Friday’s NEC resolution was not exactly a new development, as it aligned with a position the Abure NWC had canvassed consistently.
The former presidential candidate of the party, Mr. Peter Obi, and the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, lean more towards the Usman camp.
Neither Otti nor Obi, who has lately shown interest in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was sighted at the NEC meeting.
However, Obi’s former running mate, Dr. Datti, some local government chairmen and other support groups were at the meeting.
Addressing the session, Datti spoke of the desire to unite the party and strengthen it ahead of 2027.
He specifically mentioned that Obi remained a member of the LP.
“Peter Obi is still a member of LP. He is with us and our number is growing.
“We have gone through rough times and we are here now,” Datti stated.
He pointed out that the presence of INEC officials at the NEC was an indication that the party had recovered from its crisis and was ready to forge ahead.
Commenting on the security challenges in the country, Datti said the LP foresaw the ugly trends and warned Nigerians in 2023 to vote wisely.
He noted that there was a correlation between insecurity, poverty and deprivation, adding that the LP would come with a solution of rewarding labour and business operations adequately.
“As a party, we are committed to securing Nigeria. We must ensure living wages for all workers as a birthright. In this way, we will uplift their earnings.
“There is a correlation between insecurity and poor wages and poor return on business and economic activities,” he added.
Chuks Okocha
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