The Labour Party State Chairmen Forum, LPSCF, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to rise against the rescheduled congress of the party, saying it should take stiff measures against the factional Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman.
The party also wants a memo purportedly written by Senator Usman, seeking to hold a fresh congress of the party from March 26, 2026, saying the memo has not complied with the constitution of the party and other laws of the land.
The forum comprising all state chairmen of the party elected in congresses carried out on December 6, 2025, called on the Electoral Commission to sanction Senator Usman and her group.
Recall that INEC had refused Senator Usman’s request to hold congresses, also warning that the Caretaker Committee cannot act on behalf of the party.
In a statement on Monday in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, stated that the party had earlier told Nigerians that Senator Usman was never a member of the party.
He said her ignorance of the party constitution and the naivety so far displayed in all her correspondence to INEC offered a justification, pointing out that “for instance, it is only NEC that is empowered by the party constitution to fix date and time and make rules for the conduct of congresses.”
The NPS further stressed that “States’, local government and Ward executives have four years’ tenure, while notice for another congress cannot be valid under the Labour Party Constitution when the tenure of those elected in December 2025 still subsists. This was the kernel of the INEC letter to her, Nenadi, dated 16th February, 2025.”
The state chairmen’s forum has, therefore, urged INEC to consider designating an officer from the commission to run the Labour Party.
“It is, therefore, on this note that we insist that the attempt by Senator Usman to initiate a new memo to INEC, written on March 3rd, notifying the commission of its intention to hold a fresh congress, was an action dead on arrival.
“This is because INEC, in their letter dated the 16th of February, has denied knowledge of any NEC by the Caretaker Committee convened for the sake of dissolution or electing a new executive.
“It is not only unlawful but also an aberration that a caretaker committee will seek to summarily dismiss a duly elected executive of a political party and, in turn, unilaterally appoint a caretaker committee in their stead.
“Nigeria is not a lawless nation. In the Labour Party constitution, the tenure of elected officers is sacrosanct and guaranteed, and there is no provision granting a caretaker committee the powers to dissolve the elected party structure across the federation.
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