Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to recognise a former Minister of Finance, Sen. Nenadi Usman, as the valid leader of the Labour Party (LP).
Justice Lifu, who gave the ruling, relied on the April 4, 2025 verdict of the Supreme Court to uphold Usman’s leadership and consequently removed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the party.
The court ordered that the Usman–led Caretaker Committee is the only valid authority to represent the LP, pending the conduct of a national convention.
The judgment which was sequel to a suit filed by Usman marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, listed Abure and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) as defendants in the matter.
Justice Lifu said the evidence before the court established that Abure’s tenure as the National Chairman of the party had elapsed and they could not leave a leadership vacuum in the party.
The court rejected Abure’s contention that the dispute was an internal party affair and therefore non-justiciable, adding that the constitution of the Labour Party Caretaker Committee was a necessity flowing from the decision of the Supreme Court.
The judge said all the questions asked by Usman were answered in her favour, adding that answering them otherwise would amount to judicial rascality and insubordination and he could not go against the decision of the apex court.
He consequently affirmed the removal of Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the LP and ordered INEC to recognise the Usman-led National Caretaker Committee as the party’s lawful leadership.
