Lamidi Apapa asserted himself as the National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP, on Wednesday, adding a fresh dimension to the leadership struggle within the party.
Apapa, who made the announcement during a press conference in Abuja, attributed his rise to the position of National Chairman of the LP to the April 4 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated Julius Abure’s leadership.
Apapa said: “Following the decision of the Supreme Court on setting aside all judgements that recognise the leadership of Julius Abure as National Chairman, I, ALH BASHIRU LAMIDI APAPA, the most senior deputy national, and in consonance with our party constitution, Article 14 2(a)(b), hereby take over the running of the affairs of our great party with effect from today, Wednesday, the 9th day of April 2025, in an acting capacity, and Alh Farouk Umar Ibrahim as National Secretary.”
Supreme Court judgment on Abure
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court’s five-member panel overturned the Abuja Court of Appeal’s recognition of Abure as the LP’s National Chairman.
In addition to emphasizing that the judiciary has no jurisdiction over internal party leadership issues, it stated that Abure’s term had already ended based on the submissions it received.
Abure was ousted during a meeting of the LP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abia State prior to the verdict of the supreme court.
To cover the void, the party established a 29-member caretaker committee, with Darlington Nwokocha serving as secretary and former senator and finance minister Esther Nenadi Usman as chairman. The coalition led by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Peter Obi, the previous presidential candidate for the LP, has reaffirmed this stance.
Controversy trails Supreme Court judgement
The Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court’s ruling, according to LP’s National Publicity Secretary Obiorah Ifoh, validated Abure-led leadership.
Ifoh insisted that the CTC never claimed that Nenadi Usman and her National Caretaker Committee had been ordered to assume the party’s leadership or that the Abure-led executive’s leadership had lapsed.
A statement by Ifoh said: “The leadership of the Labour Party ably led by Barrister Julius Abure has been vindicated by the content of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgement between Nenadi Usman and the Labour Party.
“As promised earlier, we warned that Senator Nenadi Usman and her cohorts have been in the voyage of misleading Nigerians with wrong interpretation of the judgement of the apex court. (Attached is a copy of the CTC).
“There is no where it stated that the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure led executive has elapsed or that Nenadi Usman and her National Caretaker Committee has been directed to take over the leadership of the Labour Party.
“The Supreme Court emphatically stated that issues within the political party are internal affairs of the party and that party supremacy must be observed.
“It is pertinent for us to state clearly that there is no vacuum in the leadership of the Labour Party. The highest organ of the party, the national convention has in March 2024 elected its leaders in line with the constitution of the party and electoral act and their tenure is subsisting.
“Consequent upon that, any meeting convened in disregard to the constitution of the party is illegal and the outcome null and void. We are therefore warning all those involved in the illegal meeting holding in Abuja to refrain from further factionalising the party and respect the constitution of the party as we will not fail to activate the provision of the party on disciplinary actions.”
Ifoh told reporters that there was no leadership void in LP and that Apapa’s statement was a part of an attempt to overthrow Abure’s administration.
According to Ifoh: “There is no vacuum within the LP whatsoever.
“There is a leadership that was elected in March 2024 for a tenure of four years and that tenure is just one year old, it will end in 2027; there is no vacuum whatsoever.
“I’m sure you know that a few months ago, some of our leaders visited Apapa in his house and nobody knows what transpired at that meeting.
“So probably, this is the outcome; all in an effort to pull Abure’s leadership down but we are watching.
“Let the people that are causing the faction come to the realization that factionalizing the party will not in any way benefit anybody, until they come to that realization and pull themselves back, then there will be peace.”
Battles shifts to INEC
As the three candidates for the LP National Chairman post vie for acceptance, all eyes are now on the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC.
Otti escorted LP leaders to INEC headquarters during its NEC meeting in Abuja earlier this week, when he delivered the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court ruling.
Mr. Sam Olumekun, the Acting Chairman of INEC, and other National Commissioners welcomed the delegation.
In carrying out its constitutional duties, Olumekun reiterated the Commission’s steadfast dedication to impartiality, openness, and the rule of law.
Once that is completed, the Commission is anticipated to evaluate the judgment and make a conclusion.
