The Labour Party has strongly dismissed reports suggesting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has withdrawn recognition from its National Chairman, Julius Abure.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party accused Senator Nenadi Usman and her allies of deliberately misinforming the public about the outcome of two separate cases decided by the Federal High Court on Friday.
According to him, both cases were dismissed, yet were mischievously misinterpreted to create a false impression.
Ifoh explained that the two matters in question involved the Labour Party but from different camps.
One was instituted by Senator Nenadi Usman through her preferred candidate in the Edo bye-election, Chris Omofuma, while the other was filed by the Abure-led leadership of the party. INEC was listed as respondent in both suits.
He stressed that while INEC refused to challenge the case initiated by Nenadi Usman’s camp, it filed a counter-affidavit against the Abure-led Labour Party.
In its deposition, INEC argued that it neither monitored nor recognized the party’s March 27, 2024 national convention in Nnewi, further alleging that the tenure of Abure and the National Executive Committee had expired in June 2024.
The Federal High Court, however, dismissed both cases. In the first instance, the judge ruled that neither Nenadi Usman nor Darlington Nwokocha had the legal standing to act as National Chairman or National Secretary of the party, and therefore could not nominate a candidate for the bye-election.
Similarly, the suit filed by Abure and the Labour Party was struck out on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction.
The judge clarified that the Supreme Court had already ruled in its April 4, 2025 decision (Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025) that leadership disputes within political parties were strictly internal matters to be resolved through the parties’ internal mechanisms.
According to Ifoh, the Supreme Court did not at any point declare that Abure was no longer the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
Rather, the apex court reaffirmed that leadership issues remain the exclusive internal affairs of political parties. He maintained that the Abure-led executive remains the legitimate leadership recognized by law.
The Labour Party spokesman criticized Senator Usman and her faction for what he described as a “smokescreen celebration,” claiming they selectively published parts of INEC’s counter-affidavit which the Federal High Court itself never relied upon in dismissing the cases. He described their jubilation as hollow, deceptive, and aimed at misleading the public.
Ifoh further recalled that the same INEC counter-affidavit had been presented and rejected in several courts, including rulings by Justice Omotosho, Justice Nwite, the Court of Appeal, and even the Supreme Court.
“All those issues in the counter-affidavit have been tested before and rejected. The Federal High Court did not also adopt it yesterday, which was why it dismissed Nenadi’s request for her candidate to be recognized in the bye-election,” he said.
He argued that circulating the same rejected document as though it were a fresh ruling was “infantile and mischievous,” questioning why anyone would rejoice at a situation that only weakens the party and undermines its candidates.
He warned that such actions only serve the interests of political opponents, leaving key figures like Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti as indirect victims of the crisis.
Ifoh also referenced a separate ruling delivered on July 23, 2025, by Justice Mustapha A. Ramat of the Nasarawa State Division in Suit No. NSD/LF.84/2024, which granted an interlocutory order directing INEC to accord recognition to Julius Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as the authentic leadership of the Labour Party, pending the determination of the substantive case.
He urged INEC to respect that lawful order and desist from what he described as “suspicious collaboration with renegades” aimed at destabilizing the party.
Ifoh reassured party members and supporters that the Labour Party under Abure’s leadership remains intact and will emerge stronger from the current turbulence.
He appealed for vigilance and calmness, stressing that while provocations persist, the leadership is confident that the party will overcome the crisis and continue to play its rightful role in Nigeria’s democratic process.