The Supreme Court sitting in Abuja on Friday voids the appeal court’s judgement that validates the reinstatement of the embattled ex-national chairman of the Labour Party, Mr. Julius Abure, to his former position.
A panel consisting of five men at the apex court unanimously nullified the January 17 judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which recognized Mr. Julius Abure as the Labour Party national chairman despite the party passing a vote of no confidence on him.
The Supreme Court submitted that it is not in the jurisdiction of the appellate court to meddle with disputes that border on the leadership of a political party. Therefore, the apex court validated the appeal filed by the interim leadership of the party led by a former Minister of Finance, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and Hon. Darlington Nwokocha, who are the Chairman and Secretary of a Caretaker Committee that was appointed earlier to oversee the party’s activities.
Recall that the Labour Party (LP) has suffered a prolonged leadership crisis since the conclusion of the 2023 general election. Following the continued disagreement which tore the party’s unity apart and ushered in various factions, the leadership of the party deemed it expedient to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where Mr. Julious Abure’s removal was unanimously approved.
Consequently, a 29-member caretaker committee was constituted to fill the void, with the former Finance Minister, Senator Usman, as Chairman and Hon. Nwokocha as Secretary. The meeting was hosted by governor Alex Otti in Umuahia, Abia State and chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi.
Feeling unhappy with the ruling, Abure decided to take the case to the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to affirm his status as the National Chairman of the party. Subsequently, the court ruled in his favour and asked the party to reinstate him during the 17th January 2025 judgment.
