The month of April, 2025 seems to refresh memories of the leadership tussle in Labour Party (LP). The party, if you would recall, began its steaming leadership crisis in 2022, which thawed in 2023 after Peter Obi emerged as its presidential flag bearer.
However, after the elections, the crisis took a dramatic twist with Barr Julius Abure and Chief Lamidi Apapa at daggers drawn with one another.
At both business ends of the divide were their publicity secretaries, Obiora Ifoh for Abure, and Abayomi Arambabi for Apapa, both men fanning the embers of the disagreements with venomous press statements that inflamed more than it quenched the inferno.
Soon the crisis moved beyond the NEC and NWC rooms of both factions to the courts and then the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) joined in the fray, picketing the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, in a move to force Abure not just out of the building but out of office.
The Edo born lawyer turned party leader however resisted the pressure, but was faced with manhandling in Benin when the party held its primary elections for the state governorship poll.
When he returned to Abuja he settled back into office, surrounded by loyal supporters who were returned to offices at the controversial Nnewi national convention of March 2024.
Since then, the warring parties, this time around not Abure and Apapa (as the Lamidi faction had effectively being retired to the coolers by a court order) but Abure and a caretaker committee set up by a faction of the party led by the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, Peter Obi, and some other stakeholders; sought solace in the courts.
After months of litigation and counter litigation from the Federal High Courts to the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court on Friday, in a landmark judgment, asked Abure and his NWC to step aside.
Sadly, this judgment has since become the nexus for another round of dramas that has opened the ground for fresh confusion and power grabbing on the one hand, and resurrected once forgotten rivalry on the other hand.
Whilst Abure and his NWC argue that the judgment is in their favour, Nenadi Usman and her caretaker committee/faction insists the judgment is on their side. At the same time, the judgment has awoken a sleeping Lamidi Apapa from his protracted slumber, to lay claim on the leadership of the party.
At her faction`s stakeholders meeting held Wednesday, following the decision of the Apex Court, Senator Nenadi Usman called on the immediate past NWC members, all Labour Party men and women (both at home and diaspora) and the obedient movement worldwide to join hands to rebuild the party and democracy in Nigeria.
She said “On Friday 4th April, 2025, the Supreme Court did justice by holding that the confirmation of Barrister Abure by the Court of Appeal was wrong and illegal.
“It is therefore, with a great sense of relief, gratitude and utmost responsibility to God and Nigerians alike, that I am happy to communicate that the consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria is that Labour Party can start its journey of rebirth.
“This momentous decision of the Supreme Court is noteworthy as it marks an auspicious moment in the party’s history where truth, integrity and responsible leadership are given legal validation, thereby setting the tone for the rebirth of the Labour party to push forward with its avowed principles to its members and the country at large.
“It is indeed a triumph for the rule of law, good governance and for all who stand for the truth and sincerity of purpose in seeing that those with the best interest for our dear party, and country, are allowed to validly proceed accordingly.
“May I use this opportunity to express our gratitude to the party membership and Nigerians at large for standing firm with the caretaker committee and believing that a new labour party with a breath of fresh air is possible.
“Whilst celebrating our well-deserved victory, I would like to reiterate that some of the foundation stones of this party are unity, team spirit and reconciliation. The apex court has rightly delivered its judgement, and it is time to sheathe all swords.
“I therefore call on all party members, whether aggrieved by the decision of the Supreme Court or not, to set aside their grievance and ambitions; and come together to build a party that stands with the ordinary Nigerian and will ensure that the gains of democracy are available to every Nigerian.
“The time to make things right is now. The time to build a viral opposition is now. Nigeria belongs to all of us, and we have the duty to look at the big picture, in spite of any venal or personal dreams.
“It is my hope that this victory will be the threshold for the birth of a new, resilient and people centric Labour Party.
I also want to thank the judiciary and Nigerians once again for standing firm in the face of challenges, thereby renewing our faith in democracy and the future of Nigeria.”
Taking advantage of the same Supreme Court judgment, Apapa in a statement by his faction`s national publicity secretary, Arabambi, proposed zoning the LP national chairmanship to the north and national secretary position to the south.
He also announced that his faction of the National Working Committee (NWC) would convene a meeting on Monday, April 14, 2025, to discuss key issues.
In fact, he declared himself the acting national chairman of the party following the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the apex court judgment.
He said as the most senior deputy national chairman, he is constitutionally empowered to take over in an acting capacity.
Hear him, “Following the decision of the Supreme Court to set aside all judgments that recognised the leadership of Julius Abure as National Chairman, I, Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa, hereby take over the running of the affairs of our great party with effect from today, in an acting capacity.”
Amid these and remarks made by the Abia State Governor, Otti, calling on Abure to respect the court judgment and to vacate office by not allowing himself to be used as an obstacle in the progress of the party, Obiora Ifoh of the Abure`s faction has described the Nenadi Usman`s caretaker committee meeting held on Wednesday as delusional.
He said the LP presidential candidate, Obi and the party’s only state governor, Otti “have continued to live in an unhealthy paradise and deluding themselves,” adding that Obi had after their “illegal NEC meeting” “led other party outlaws to the Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in attempt to pressure the electoral Commission to take illegal action against our party leadership.”
“The mission has shown the high level of desperation of Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti in trying to hijack the structure of the party. If really the Supreme Court decision is in their favour, why are they rushing to INEC to be putting undue influence on the Commission to do the wrong thing.
“Also in their meeting today, they also boasted of wanting to give the National Chairman, Barrister Abure a soft landing by offering him the position of the Chairman, Board of Trustees. But unfortunately for them, Abure didn’t make himself the National Chairman, therefore it is not about Abure but about what the structures have said. It is about the supremacy of the organs of the party and it is about doing things right.
“It is not about offering the BoT to the National chairman that matters, because it is not within anybody’s prerogative to allocate positions, it is not about patronizing anyone, it is about the sanctity of the political institution. Needless to say that It is all these arbitrary behaviours by some leaders that have led this country into a near mess it has found itself.
“The Abuja illegal meeting also issued threats of intimidation and to recover the leadership of the party using all means including by way of brute force. It will be recalled that just yesterday, a political union leader, Comrade Joe Ajero has also toed that same hooliganistic approach wherein he swore to forcefully picket all Labour Party offices across the nation.
“Our immediate response to that threat by Peter Obi, Gov Otti and the other renegades is that what they are planning will amount to self help. We need not inform them that there are legal ways of enforcing judgement if it is really in your favour. We advice them to seek peaceful means to resolve the crisis as threats and intimidation may never achieve anything positive.
“It is pertinent to note at this juncture that the meeting and the outcome of the meeting held in Abuja is a violation of the Supreme Court judgement where it admonished party leaders to obey their party’s constitution. In line with the Supreme Court decision, no other officer or any other person in the party is allowed to call any NEC meeting except the National Secretary with the consultation and approval of the National Chairman.
Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti have no power under the constitution to convene the purported NEC meeting in Abuja. Consequently, the outcome of the meeting and the meeting itself is illegal, is incompetent, null and void.”
Obiora went on to state that there is nowhere in the party constitution where a body such as the National Caretaker Committee is mentioned, adding that there is nowhere where it was mentioned that a state governor or a former Presidential Candidate of the party can convene a NEC meeting.
“It is unfortunate like we said earlier that the beautiful ones are not yet born. We must say here that those who want to lead Nigeria, those who are clamouring that we must have a new country where things are done differently must be seen to obey the laws of the land.
“It is pertinent to mention here that if some of our leaders cannot obey the principles of our constitution now that they are not in power, is it when they are in power that they will do it? Will they not throw away the Nigerian constitution and the electoral act? And if the constitution has prescribed the way and manner a new leadership must emerge, how come these leaders are not following the procedure for the benefit and the peace in the party.
We therefore condemned that illegal meeting and we call on our members and the general public to disregard the meeting and its outcome.”
Given this, it is important to advise stakeholders in the party to come together and negotiate the way forward so that the platform can give Nigerians the much desired electoral option in the next general election.
The country deserves better than egoistic tussle for leadership in a political party that no doubt gave the APC a run for their money in 2023, and that can provide respite for the people from the current harsh economic policies of an ethnically biased federal government which has by its appointments since 2023, destroyed the principles of federal character as enshrined in the 1999 constitution.
Labour Party must appreciate the wisdom in the belief that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
