Labour Party Pushes Back on Leadership Dispute, Insists Abure’s Chairmanship Runs Until 2028
The Abure-led faction of the Labour Party on Tuesday moved to steady internal tensions by reaffirming that Barrister Julius Abure remains the party’s National Chairman, declaring that his tenure is constitutionally valid until 2028 despite ongoing court cases and public controversy.
The clarification, issued in Abuja through a statement signed by Abure’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategic Communications, Aju Elumelu-James, was aimed at countering what the party described as growing confusion around its leadership structure.
According to the statement, the intervention became necessary because “a flurry of conflicting narratives has flooded the public space regarding the leadership of the Labour Party, particularly concerning the tenure of Barrister Julius Abure.”
Rather than focusing on the legal contest currently before the Court of Appeal, the party said it was important to address what it termed deliberate misrepresentation of internal constitutional processes.
“While the matter of party leadership is presently before the Court of Appeal, it has become necessary to separate legal proceedings from misinformation. The ongoing judicial process does not justify the distortion of verifiable constitutional facts,” the statement noted.
To support its position, the party retraced the sequence of events that produced the current leadership. It recalled that after the death of former National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, in December 2020, Deputy National Chairman Maria Lebeke stepped in as acting chair.
“She convened a National Executive Council meeting, and Barrister Julius Abure was unanimously elected on 29 March 2021 to complete the tenure of the late chairman,” the statement said.
The party further explained that as Abure’s initial tenure approached its end in June 2023, a National Executive Council meeting held in Asaba in April 2023 approved a one-year extension. It added that a National Convention later held on 27 March 2024 in Nnewi produced the current leadership, resetting Abure’s mandate. “Following the March 2024 convention, his tenure is expected to run until 2028,” the statement added.
Reacting to claims that Abure’s leadership had lapsed, the party described such assertions in strong terms, saying, “It is fallacious, misleading, and mischievous to continue to suggest that the tenure of Barrister Julius Abure has expired.”
The statement also addressed public interpretations of recent judicial pronouncements, clarifying the position of the Supreme Court.
According to the party, “The Supreme Court did not delve into the issue of party leadership or the validity of the convention held in Nnewi.
The Court merely held that matters concerning the leadership of a political party are internal affairs of that party and that the courts lack jurisdiction to entertain such disputes.”
Amid rising factional disputes, the Abure-led group urged party members and the wider public to “rely on verifiable constitutional facts and disregard misinformation,” stressing that authority over leadership decisions rests solely with the National Working Committee, National Executive Council and National Convention.
The renewed assertion of Abure’s mandate comes against the backdrop of a January ruling by a Federal High Court that removed him as chairman and recognised a caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman, as well as fresh accusations from the Usman-led faction alleging an invasion of the party’s national secretariat by Abure’s supporters—developments that continue to deepen divisions within the opposition party.
