The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday removed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), ruling that his tenure had expired.
Delivering judgment, Justice Peter Lifu relied on the April 4, 2025 decision of the Supreme Court to affirm former Minister of Finance, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, as the lawful leader of the party.
The court subsequently directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the only legitimate authority representing the Labour Party, pending the conduct of a national convention.
The ruling followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2262/2025, filed by Senator Usman. Julius Abure and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) were listed as defendants in the case.
Justice Lifu held that evidence before the court clearly showed that Abure’s tenure as national chairman had lapsed. He dismissed Abure’s argument that the matter was an internal party issue beyond judicial intervention, stressing that the establishment of the LP Caretaker Committee was a necessity arising from the Supreme Court’s pronouncement.
The court recalled that the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), following a prolonged leadership crisis, had earlier resolved to remove Abure as chairman. To address the leadership vacuum, the NEC constituted a 29-member caretaker committee, appointing Senator Nenadi Usman as its chairperson.
