The Barr Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party, LP, has rejected the Appeal Court decision, saying it is heading to the Supreme Court for the last lap.
Recall that the Appeal Court on Tuesday in Abuja dismissed Abure’s appeal, affirming Nenadi Usman as the authentic caretaker chairman of the party.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had, on January 21, reaffirmed the earlier judgment, which had Abure as the national chairman of the party, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognise Senator Usman as the legitimate leader of the party, to the exclusion of others.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Abure approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the lower court’s judgment.
However, in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Oyejeju Oyewumi on Tuesday, the appellate court affirmed the Federal High Court’s decision.
The court further held that the Supreme Court had, on April 4, 2025, conclusively settled the leadership dispute within the party by nullifying the convention that purportedly returned Abure as national chairman.
But Ab, you’re in his reaction while speaking with journalists after the judgement, and said, “We have seen what transpired today at the Appeal Court, and we want to say very clearly that the judgement is not acceptable to all of us in the Labour Party, led by my humble self.
“I want to say very clearly that the judgment is against all known principles of law. The courts, including the Supreme Court, have made it clear that the issue of leadership of a political party is.
“It is also not true, and I disagree, when people say that the tenure of this executive has expired. That is untrue and very unacceptable to us.
Nigerians will recall that on March 27, 2024, we held a valid convention in Nnewi, and it remains valid and subsisting for 4 years. I want to say that the CoCourt today didn’t consider that before concluding that the tenure had expired.
“I must also say clearly that the Umuahia meeting, which produced the Caretaker Committee, was also against the Labour Party constitution. It Onlye national chairman and national secretary of a political party whoe the power to convene any national executive committee meeting of any sort.
“I want to say very clearly that we are going to appeal that decision. Today’s decision of the Appeal Court is unacceptable to us, and we reject it in its entirety. We have put our legal team together, and we are going to file an appeal and move to the Supreme Court.”
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