Labour Party Faults Media Reports on Court Ruling, Says Obi, Otti Are “Greatest Losers”

By Chinedu Echianu

The Labour Party has dismissed media reports suggesting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has withdrawn recognition from its National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, describing such claims as misleading and politically motivated.

In a statement issued on Saturday, August 16, 2025, by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party said recent judgments by the Federal High Court had been wrongly interpreted and exploited by what it called “renegade elements” led by Senator Nenadi Usman.

According to the party, two cases involving Labour Party were decided on Friday, August 15. One, filed by Usman through her purported candidate in the Edo bye-election, Chris Omofuma, was dismissed on the grounds that Usman and Darlington Nwokocha were not the recognised National Chairman and Secretary of the party, respectively, and therefore lacked competence to nominate a candidate.

The other suit, filed by the Labour Party through Abure, was also struck out on jurisdictional grounds, with the court holding that the Supreme Court had already ruled that party leadership issues are internal matters to be resolved within party structures.

The Labour Party stressed that the Federal High Court did not declare Abure’s leadership illegitimate, contrary to reports circulated by Usman’s camp. Instead, it said INEC’s counter-affidavit, which questioned Abure’s tenure and the party’s 2024 convention in Nnewi, was not relied upon by the court.

“Their celebration is laughable and amounts to a smokescreen meant to mislead the public,” the statement read. “The so-called INEC counter-affidavit has been tested in various courts up to the Supreme Court and has been rejected.”

The party accused Usman and her allies of playing into the hands of the opposition, insisting that the real losers in the legal tussle are party figures such as former presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti.

“Are they celebrating because they want the party to die? Who benefits from this saga? Are Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti not actually the losers in all of these? A party that gave them hope when they didn’t have any hope, a platform when they were frustrated by other political parties,” the statement queried.

The party further called on INEC to obey an interlocutory order issued by the Nasarawa State High Court on July 23, 2025, which directed the commission to recognise Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as the authentic leadership of the Labour Party pending the resolution of the substantive suit.

“We urge INEC not to disobey a lawful order of the Court. Nigerians must rise and defend this democracy if there are indeed collaborative efforts to exclude Labour Party from future democratic processes,” Ifoh said.

Reassuring its members, the party maintained that its leadership under Abure remains intact and urged supporters to remain calm, promising that the party would emerge stronger once the crisis is resolved.