The leadership tussle between the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee and the Nenadi Usman Caretaker Committee, backed by Governor Alex Otti and LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, took a dramatic turn on Wednesday, following the return of factional leader Lamidi Apapa.
Apapa, who had disappeared from the political circles in the past year, announced on Wednesday that he had taken over the leadership of the Labour Party following the release of the Certified True Copy of last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment.
In its recent judgment, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had recognised Abure as the party’s national chairman.
On Wednesday, Apapa claimed that the apex court verdict puts him in pole position to replace Abure being the most senior National Deputy Chairman of the party.
He made the assertion in a statement signed by factional National Publicity Secretary, Dr Abayomi Arabambi.
In the statement, Apapa also announced that his National Working Committee, as of 2022, will officially meet next Monday (April 14, 2025) to discuss zoning arrangements.
The statement read, “Following the dismissal of the cross-appeal filed by the ousted former National Chairman, Bar Julius Abure, also by the Supreme Court on 4th April 2025, what this means is that all actions and decisions taken by Julius Abure since 4th April 2023 are null and void.
“Following the decision of the Supreme Court to set aside all judgments that recognise the leadership of Julius Abure as the National Chairman, I, Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa, the most senior deputy national, and in consonance with our party constitution, Article 14 2(a)(b), hereby take over the running of the affairs of our great party with effect from today, in an acting capacity, and Alh Farouk Umar Ibrahim as National Secretary.
“My leadership hereby calls on all members of the Labour Party that the National Working Committee of our party as of 2022 will meet next week, Monday, 14th April 2025, to announce our plans, which will include zoning the position of National Chairman to the North and National Secretary to the South.”
On Wednesday, jubilation erupted among Obi and Otti supporters when the latter announced that they had received the official Certified True Copy of last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership crisis.
While presenting the 48-page CTC before the Labour Party Stakeholders Engagement in Abuja, Otti reiterated that the document had put an end to the debate of misinterpretation of the verdict.
He said, “I want to say that we welcome the Supreme Court judgment of last Friday, which Certified True Copy just arrived a few minutes again. The 48-page document was very clear in saying that it is all of you seated here that constitute the leadership of the party. I also want to make a point that we are law-abiding people.
“We sat on the 4th of September 2024 in Umuahia, where we unanimously elected a 29-man caretaker committee. Shortly after that exercise, our brothers, on the other side, went to court and got a judgment that pronounced them the party’s leaders.
“If we are not law-abiding, we would have started dragging the office. But we all said since there was a court judgment, let us follow the process, which ended last Friday. We expected that everybody who wants the survival of democracy and progress of this country would have accepted that judgment. So you may not like the judgment, but you must obey it.”
In attendance were the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi; the lawmaker representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Senator Victor Umeh; Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku; and the National Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Senator Darlington Nwokocha.
Others include former LP chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo, members of the National Assembly, Abia State Assembly and chieftains of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, among others.
As Otti read out the excerpts of the document, another frenzy of applause rents the air.
“The same issue submitted for determination is hereby jointly in the favour of the appellants. The appellants are distinguished Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha. In summary, both the trial courts and the one below have no jurisdiction to entertain the first respondent, Julius Abure.
“Consequent upon the foregoing, the decisions of both trial courts and the one below in recognising Julius Abure as the national chairman of the party is hereby set aside and struck out for want of jurisdiction. In the vein, the first respondent cross-appeal being an offshoot of the same judgment of the courts below is hereby dismissed,” he stated.
When he finished reading the CTC, the governor recalled how he tried to pacify Abure to step down from his position as national chairman and accept a new role as the chairman of the LP Board of Trustees.
Abure, however, allegedly turned down the prospect, saying he wanted nothing.
“But I gave Abure some piece of advice, saying if I were you, I wouldn’t want to lead people who don’t want me as a leader. So, we are still extending the olive branch to him and his former National Working Committee. The leadership of every party should be humble enough to leave at the expiration of their tenure.
“Before I am done, may I appeal to political parties and their members to endeavour to always allow their constitutions, regulations and rules to guide them in choosing their officers and candidates.
“That way, the incessant internal wrangling that always finds its way to court will be reduced. The leadership of every party should be humble enough to leave at the expiration of their tenure,” he said.
On his part, Obi applauded his supporters and Nigerians for being patient and standing solidly behind them.
The former Anambra governor announced that they would move straight to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission to update them about the presence of the CTC and have them replace Abure’s NWC.
He said, “As leaders and elected members of this great party, we are going to leave from here to INEC to submit this document (CTC) so that we can start the process.
“We will go there now and say here are the documents from the court. This is our resolution. So can we now start the process of rebuilding with your cooperation.”
Shortly after leaving Transcorp Hotel, the venue of the NEC meeting, Otti led a high-level delegation to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja to discuss recent developments within the party.
The governor also presented the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment to INEC’s acting Chairman, Sam Olumekun, and other National Commissioners.