Apex Court nullifies verdict recognising Abure as LP’s National Chairman

On Friday, the Supreme Court annulled the ruling that had recognized Mr. Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).

In a unanimous ruling, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court overturned the January 17 decision made by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had affirmed Abure's right to remain in his position as National Chairman.

The Supreme Court stated that the appellate court did not have the jurisdiction to make any ruling in favor of Abure, as it had previously determined that the issue at hand pertained to the leadership of a political party.

The Court emphasized that the core of the case involved internal matters of a political party, which are beyond the jurisdiction of any court.

As a result, the Supreme Court upheld an appeal filed by former Minister of Finance, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, and Hon. Darlington Nwokocha, who serve as the Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of a Caretaker Committee that was established to manage the party's affairs.

It is important to note that following a leadership crisis within the LP, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party decided to remove Abure from his position as National Chairman.

To address the leadership gap, the party formed a 29-member caretaker committee, with Senator Usman as Chairman and Hon. Nwokocha as Secretary.

This decision emerged from an expanded stakeholders' meeting convened in Umuahia by Governor Alex Otti of Abia State.

The meeting, during which Abure was dismissed, was led by his former ally and the party's candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi.

Dissatisfied with this outcome, Abure sought validation of his position as National Chairman through the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In an affidavit he personally submitted in support of the case identified as FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, Abure informed the court that he was lawfully elected as the Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party following the death of the previous National Chairman. This election took place during a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Benin City, Edo State, on March 29, 2021.

He further stated that during the NEC meeting on April 18, 2023, which was conducted in Asaba, Delta State, and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it was decided to renew the tenures of State Chairmen whose terms had expired.

Abure noted that at this same meeting, certain members involved in activities against the party were expelled, and replacements were appointed for the positions that became vacant due to these expulsions.

He asserted that in accordance with a consensus reached during the meeting, the party convened its National Convention on March 27, 2024, in Nnewi, Anambra State, where he was duly elected as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

Under his leadership, the party nominated candidates for the gubernatorial elections in both Edo and Ondo states.

The plaintiff stated that on June 28, 2024, INEC issued him and 18 other National Chairmen of political parties a Notice for Inspection of Sensitive Election Materials related to the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Ondo and Edo states.

However, he expressed concern that a subsequent notice from INEC, which requested political parties to nominate two representatives from their IT Unit for training on how to upload data to INEC’s portal for the forthcoming Ondo state gubernatorial election, was not communicated to him.

Abure became aware of this training notice from INEC on August 21, 2024, as he is a member of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).

Consequently, he requested the court to intervene and compel INEC to recognize him as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

On October 8, 2024, Justice Emeka Nwite delivered a ruling in which he recognized the validity of the plaintiff's case. He instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to grant the Labour Party, led by Abure, all the rights and privileges associated with a legally registered political party in Nigeria.

Additionally, the court mandated INEC to fulfill its responsibilities by providing refresher training for the uploading of the Labour Party's agents into the INEC portal and to issue the plaintiff, Abure, the necessary Access Code to access the INEC portal for the Ondo Governorship Election scheduled for November 16, 2024.

Justice Nwite stated, "I hold the view that, based on these compelling and verifiable documents, the defendants' efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the plaintiff's leadership are unsuccessful. The plaintiff has substantiated his case. I hereby order the defendant to grant the plaintiff's political party, under the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure, all rights and privileges entitled to a registered political party in Nigeria."

While the appellate court upheld the high court's ruling, the Supreme Court subsequently overturned it on Friday.