The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, on Friday chaired a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting attended by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.
The meeting, held at the LP national secretariat in Abuja, comes against the backdrop of persistent internal conflict stemming from the party’s controversial 2024 national convention in Nnewi, Anambra State.
The Nnewi gathering had returned Abure as national chairman, a decision that sparked legal battles, the emergence of factions, and opposition from key figures, including the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.
In July 2024, Obi, Otti, and other senior party leaders rejected the Nnewi outcomes and established a 29-member caretaker committee led by former minister Nemadi Usman to organise inclusive congresses and a new national convention.
The move deepened the leadership crisis that has lingered for months, with both camps citing court rulings and the party constitution to defend their positions.
Addressing journalists after the NEC meeting, Abure said the council relied heavily on a recent Supreme Court decision which reaffirmed that political parties’ internal leadership matters are non-justiciable.
“The NEC has the responsibility to manage party affairs between national conventions and to fill vacant positions. That is why we convened this meeting, to resolve our internal issues and strategically position the party for the 2027 elections,” he said.
He added that the Labour Party has become a major force in Nigeria’s political landscape and must demonstrate that political parties are stronger than individual actors.
Abure also thanked INEC for deploying officials to observe the NEC meeting, saying their presence validated his leadership, especially since the commission did not monitor the Nnewi convention, a situation that contributed to lingering disputes.
“Without sounding immodest, I have always said that when lawyers are in office, there is fairness and equity. I am glad that peace is gradually returning to political parties because INEC is now headed by a lawyer,” he said.
INEC’s team was drawn from the Litigation and Election Party Monitoring (EPM) departments and led by Mrs. Rakiya Dattijo.
After reviewing the controversies surrounding the Nnewi convention, the NEC reaffirmed the list of national officers elected on March 27, 2024, retaining Abure as National Chairman and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as National Secretary.
Several vacant positions were also filled, and the chairman and secretary were authorised to convene a special convention if necessary.
The council further endorsed plans to conduct ward, local government, and state congresses across the country.
Quoting the Supreme Court judgment, Abure reiterated that political parties are corporate bodies governed by their internal rules and that members who join do so voluntarily and must adhere to those internal mechanisms for dispute resolution.
