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The Federal High Court in Abuja has reaffirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP). Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Tuesday, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Abure’s leadership and grant the party all rights and privileges associated with a duly registered political party in Nigeria.
The court ordered INEC to conduct refresher training for the LP’s agents and to issue Abure the Access Code needed to access INEC’s portal for the upcoming Ondo Governorship Election scheduled for November 16, 2024. This ruling follows a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, filed by Abure against INEC, which was the sole defendant.
In his affidavit, Abure stated that he was elected as the Acting National Chairman of the LP during a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on March 29, 2021, following the death of the previous chairman. He further noted that a subsequent NEC meeting in Asaba on April 18, 2023, led to the renewal of tenures for state chairmen and the expulsion of some members involved in anti-party activities.
Abure emphasized that the LP conducted its National Convention on March 27, 2024, in Nnewi, Anambra State, where he was lawfully elected as National Chairman. He highlighted the party’s success in producing candidates for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.
Despite receiving a notice from INEC regarding the inspection of sensitive election materials, Abure claimed he was not served with a subsequent notice for a training session on uploading data to INEC’s portal, which he became aware of through his membership in the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
Justice Nwite ruled in favor of Abure, stating, “I hereby make an order compelling the defendant to accord the plaintiff’s political party under the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure all the rights and privileges accorded a political party duly registered in Nigeria.”
This ruling comes amid a leadership crisis within the LP, where the NEC had previously resolved to remove Abure and constituted a 29-member caretaker committee, chaired by former finance minister Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, following an expanded stakeholders’ meeting led by former presidential candidate Peter Obi.
