Tensions within the Labour Party (LP) appeared to ease Friday as officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) observed a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Julius Abure–led faction, marking a potential milestone in the party’s protracted leadership crisis.
The NEC gathering, held at the LP national secretariat in Utako, Abuja, reaffirmed all national officers elected at the party’s March 27, 2024 convention in Nnewi, Anambra State — including Abure as National Chairman and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as National Secretary — while filling all previously vacant NWC positions.
INEC’s team was led by Rakiya Dattijo from its Election & Party Monitoring department. The commission declined to comment on the meeting, saying their participation was strictly observational.
Datti Baba-Ahmed — former vice-presidential candidate of LP — was present, urging unity ahead of the 2027 general elections. He declared that former presidential candidate Peter Obi remains a member of LP, and suggested that the INEC presence was a sign the party “has recovered from its crisis and is ready to forge ahead.”
Abure defended the NEC’s resolution citing a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Nigeria that held internal party disputes are “non-justiciable,” arguing that the party’s convention rules and constitution give internal organs — not courts — the authority to regulate leadership.
The NEC also authorised plans for ward, local government, and state congresses across the country, and reserved the option of convening a special national convention “if necessary.”
The meeting comes against a backdrop of ongoing factional conflict — with another camp led by former finance minister Nenadi Usman — which had earlier rejected the Nnewi convention and constituted an interim caretaker committee.
INEC’s presence at the NEC meeting significantly boosts the legitimacy of the Abure-led faction, suggesting formal recognition from the electoral umpire.
The reaffirmation of officers and move to hold nationwide congresses signals the faction’s intention to consolidate and rebuild the party ahead of 2027.
Datti Baba-Ahmed’s participation may reflect growing support for reconciliation and internal stability — though the Usman-led camp is unlikely to back down easily.
Given the fragile unity and competing claims, LP’s path to cohesion may be long and fraught, but this moment could mark an important step toward internal settlement and institutional normalcy.
