A fresh leadership crisis has erupted within the Labour Party following the announcement by the Julius Abure-led faction that it has regained control of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, barely 24 hours after the Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee assumed authority over the facility.
The Abure camp disclosed this in a statement issued Tuesday night by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, who confirmed that the headquarters, earlier taken over by the rival group, had been reclaimed.
He alleged that the initial occupation of the premises was carried out unlawfully.
Photographs released alongside the statement showed banners and billboards bearing the image of caretaker committee chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, being removed from the premises.
According to Ifoh, the party leadership acted after determining that the takeover involving the Usman group and the Abia State Deputy Governor was illegal and unauthorised.
He added that the party would conduct an inventory of losses allegedly incurred during the incident and pursue legal action where necessary.
The faction also warned against further attempts to undermine what it described as the lawful leadership of the party and urged rival groups to await the final determination of the dispute by appellate courts.
Party activities, it said, would resume at the national secretariat from Wednesday.
However, the caretaker committee rejected the development.
Senator Nenadi Usman, through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, expressed shock and insisted that the Abure faction was acting in defiance of a subsisting court judgment.
She maintained that a valid ruling had already declared Abure’s tenure as national chairman expired and authorised the caretaker committee to oversee party affairs, including operations at the secretariat.
Usman argued that her group’s earlier takeover of the facility was conducted openly and lawfully, questioning the circumstances under which the Abure faction reportedly returned to the premises.
The latest confrontation comes shortly after Usman, accompanied by Abia State Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu, took control of the party’s Utako headquarters under heavy security presence.
Armed policemen were stationed within and around the complex, with party members and journalists subjected to strict screening.
Sources indicated that the caretaker committee had begun moves to extend its control to state secretariats nationwide.
The dispute follows a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja which held that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had lapsed and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise a caretaker committee led by Usman pending a national convention.
INEC subsequently updated its records to reflect the change in leadership.
Despite challenging the ruling and filing an appeal, Abure has continued to reject the decision, describing the caretaker arrangement as unlawful and vowing to resist attempts to remove his leadership.
The unfolding developments underscore the deepening internal divisions within the Labour Party, which have persisted since the aftermath of the 2023 general elections and continue to play out through parallel leadership claims and legal battles.
