• Otti, Kingibe suspended, Abure faces probe
• Resist one-party state, Jonathan warns politicians
• Presidency calls opposition’s coalition talk ‘hallucination’

The future of the opposition Labour Party (LP) has continued to hang in the balance, following a rash of disciplinary measures, including the suspension of its lone state governor, Dr Alex Otti, and some members of the National Assembly elected on the party’s platform.

This is just as the Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee slammed a cease and desist order on the embattled factional national chairman, Mr Julius Abure, as well as an investigation into his financial dealings during his term in office.

Coming more than a month after the April 4, 2025, Supreme Court ruling on the matter, which effectively invalidated Abure’s claims as national chairman, the renewed hostilities leave the impression of a further recourse to litigation.

For instance, the Usman-led NCC ordered Abure to stop impersonating the national chairman and parading himself as occupant of that office, stressing that the embattled chairman’s actions are bringing the party to disrepute.

In a related development, former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan has enjoined political leaders in the country to eschew actions that are likely to foist a one-party state on the polity, stressing that democracy would be imperilled by the absence of viable and strong opposition parties.

In his remarks when he paid tribute to the late elder statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, during a memorial, Jonathan warned that any attempt to bring about a one-party state through political machinations to suit parochial aspirations will be detrimental to the country.

Also, the Presidential candidate of LP in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, lamented that the labours of our heroes past are already in vain, remarking that the endemic poverty in rural areas, state of insecurity and the rising cost of living raise a question mark on the dividends of democracy.

The Presidency has, however, dismissed reports on a growing opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing it as “a hallucination.”
Emphasising that no credible political party or figure has officially supported such an alliance, Special Adviser on Policy and Communications, Daniel Bwala, on his official X handle, insisted that such claims lack substance and are not backed by any legitimate endorsement.

He alluded to the notion of an emerging alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and other opposition blocs as a media-driven illusion with no substance. “To say a political coalition is surging when in fact no one is interested in it is a political hallucination,” Bwala stated on his official X handle.

According to Bwala, “both the PDP Governors’ Forum and the party’s National Working Committee have publicly declared their non-involvement in any coalition talks. Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has also recently distanced himself from such negotiations. Obi said he is not in any coalition talks. Labour Party people said they are not interested. The PDP Governors Forum said they’re not in. So, who exactly is in this so-called coalition?” the Presidential aide queried.

Incidentally, none of the parties to the fresh hostilities in LP suspended the former presidential standard bearer. However, aside from the Abia State governor, Otti, the representative of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, and some members of the House of Representatives were purportedly suspended from the Abure faction of the party.

Nonetheless, the mainstream NCC leadership headed by Senator Usman, in a bid to assert its authority, set up a six-member Disciplinary Committee to probe Abure for alleged impersonation, financial misconduct, and “actions deemed detrimental to party unity.”

The committee, chaired by Senator Kingibe, has 21 days to conclude its investigation and recommend appropriate sanctions. In her remarks during a press conference in Abuja, Senator Usman denounced Abure as an ‘impostor’, even as she apologised to key party stakeholders, including Obi and Otti, for what she described as Abure’s “uncouth and unprovoked” verbal attacks.

While warning Abure to cease and desist from parading himself as LP Chairman, the NCC chairman recalled that the Supreme Court’s clear verdict removed every trace of doubt about the status of the former national chairman.

She noted that the LP found itself at a crossroads in the aftermath of Nigeria’s pivotal 2023 general elections, stressing that the legitimacy of the NCC is traceable to the fact that Abure’s term as national chairman had long expired before the litigations that culminated in the Supreme Court judgment.

“For the sake of unity and stability, party elders and stakeholders agreed to a transitional arrangement. Abure, who had served as National Chairman through the elections, was permitted to remain in office for a one-year period, not as a full extension of tenure, but on the condition that he would oversee fresh congresses from the ward to the national level.

“This understanding was built on internal mediation and peace efforts, aimed at maintaining order while planning the future.
“However, by March 2024, it became evident that Abure had veered off course. Instead of organising proper ward, local government, and state congresses as required by the party’s constitution and Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), he single-handedly convened a National Convention without due process and without the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). “This blatant disregard for both internal and national legal frameworks triggered immediate alarm within the party and among democratic observers.

“By June 8, 2024, INEC formally notified Mr Abure that his transitional tenure had ended. The Commission further affirmed this stance by excluding him from national meetings of party chairpersons—not once, but twice—a clear signal that his leadership was no longer recognised.

“Matters came to a head during preparations for the 2024 Ondo Governorship Election. INEC flatly rejected the list of LP polling agents submitted under Abure’s authority, stating that his tenure had expired and was not legally valid,” Usman narrated.

Further, the NCC head disclosed that in a desperate move to cling to power, Abure sued INEC in an attempt to force the Commission to accept his authority.
She added: “Though a Federal High Court initially ruled in his favour, resulting in a misleading entry on the INEC portal that read: ‘Barr. Julius Abure (by court order), the legal victory was, however, short-lived.

“Recognising the crisis this posed to the party’s credibility and electoral standing, LP stakeholders from across the country, including elected members of the National Assembly and statutory NEC members, gathered in Umuahia, Abia State, on September 4, 2024. There, they constituted a 29-member National Caretaker Committee to stabilise the party and return it to constitutional order.

While emphasising that the Supreme Court in its final and binding judgment, upheld the appeal filed by Sen. Nenadi Usman’s National Caretaker Committee, she noted that the apex court not only dismissed the cross-appeal filed by Julius Abure, but also set aside the decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal that had erroneously recognised him (Abure).

Additionally, the Caretaker chairman recalled that the Supreme Court sternly warned party leaders across Nigeria that “no one should remain in office beyond their constitutionally defined term.”

She quoted a section of the Supreme Court ruling as read by Justice John Inyang Okoro, where the Court declared: “The decisions of the trial court and the court below, recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the first respondent (Labour Party), are hereby set aside.”

“Following this judgment,” she went on, “investigations revealed that Mr Abure had violated party rules by issuing letters to appoint State Executive Committees every three months, actions that were both unconstitutional and destabilising.

“In line with its constitutional mandate and backed by the Supreme Court’s judgment, the National Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, has since nullified all such illegal appointments.

“The Committee remains the only legitimate organ empowered to appoint caretaker bodies at the state level, and it continues to lead the party towards a new era of internal democracy, transparency, and lawful conduct.”

Emphasising the need to examine the activities of Governor Otti in the party since 2023, Oyo State Chairman of LP, Ataiyese Tunji Sadiq, said the suspension of the Abia State governor didn’t come as a surprise.

“For instance, how do you justify the action of a governor who held local government elections in his state using the candidates of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and not his party? How would he justify the sincerity of a governor who was full of praises for President Bola Tinubu of the ruling party, an indication that his (Otti) mind is already set to defect if given the slightest opportunity.

“As for Otti, I doubt his commitment to the party. The governor is probably creating more factions than bringing the party together.” Sadiq also said the Oyo State chapter of LP has decided to revolve the party around an individual. “Although Mr Peter Obi is still a member of the party, the position of Oyo chapter is that LP should revolve around ideology instead of individuals.”

Worried that the suspension of Otti may possibly push the Abia State governor to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a member of the party, who prefers not to be mentioned, said Otti is likely on his way to the ruling APC.

Despite the Supreme Court’s intention to bring finality to the leadership dispute, both camps now operate parallel structures, each claiming legitimacy and issuing suspensions of the other’s members. With the 2027 elections approaching, the Labour Party faces a critical juncture—whether to reconcile and unite or continue down a path of fragmentation that threatens its electoral viability.

The ball is now in the court of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decide after studying the judgment of the apex court to determine who is the true leader of the party.

However, it would be seen if the Usman-led NCC would try to enforce the apex court ruling through the Federal High Court.