The internal crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) took a dramatic turn on Friday as Nenadi Usman, chairperson of the party’s caretaker committee, boldly challenged factional leader Julius Abure to carry out his threat to expose damaging secrets about key LP figures including Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Usman dismissed Abure’s recent outburst as empty threats, daring him to substantiate his claims instead of resorting to public blackmail. “I am challenging him to expose us. If you have anybody to expose, you don’t go and talk now, you go and expose them,” she stated.
Abure, who has been at the center of the party’s leadership tussle, had earlier in the week accused top Labour Party members of hypocrisy regarding funding for the 2023 general elections. He threatened to release information that would severely damage their reputations, stating, “I am waiting for them—from top to bottom—to make any other move and I will open my mouth…they will be like smelly eggs, rotten eggs that nobody will ever buy.”
In response, Usman revealed that there are already several misconduct allegations against Abure currently being investigated by law enforcement. “We have a lot of things about him and that is why the people whom he did it to went to the police. The police are investigating him and very soon you will hear about it,” she said.
A Party in Turmoil
Usman described the ongoing leadership conflict as a threat to internal democracy within the party and warned that such crises risk weakening the opposition’s ability to function effectively in Nigeria’s democracy. “Generally, you would agree with me that every democracy needs to have a vibrant opposition. So when the opposition wants to become part of the ruling party, then there’s a problem. And that is where we are today,” she asserted.
She further argued that Abure’s tenure as LP national chairman had expired, necessitating a leadership transition as directed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). According to her, Abure was asked to step aside during a meeting with INEC officials because his term had lapsed.
Legal Battles and Supreme Court Verdict
Abure had previously obtained a court ruling reinstating him as chairman, but Usman noted that the case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed the lower courts’ decisions on grounds of lacking jurisdiction. Quoting Justice Inyang Okoro’s judgment, she emphasized the need for political leaders to honor their term limits. “Justice Okoro even went on to advise that ‘please, leaders, when your tenure comes to an end in an office, please kindly leave honourably,’” she said.
Despite the Supreme Court’s verdict, Abure’s name still appears on INEC’s website. Usman clarified that this is due to a court order and not because of a legitimate electoral process.
Caretaker Committee to Lead Party Reforms
Following INEC’s directive, the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) appointed a caretaker committee to organize congresses and conduct elections for new leaders from the ward to national level. Usman encouraged Abure to contest if he still wants to lead, rather than trying to hold onto power through the courts.
“Even Julius Abure, if he still wants to remain chairman, he could go through the election,” she said. “But he doesn’t want to go through election — his NWC, they don’t want to go through election. They just want to be using the courts to remain as leaders. I think that’s not good for opposition.”
The Labour Party’s internal crisis appears far from over, with both factions trading accusations and the legitimacy of its leadership still under legal and political scrutiny.
