Abure’s Troubles Caused INEC To Exclude Us — LP – Independent Newspaper Nigeria

1

…Targets 10m In Ambitious New Membership Drive

ABUJA – The Interim National Working Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party (LP) has described the exclusion of the party, by INEC, from last Saturday’s parliamen­tary by-elections in 16 constit­uencies as a plot by the sacked Julius Abure-led NWC and their paymasters to deny Nigeria elec­torate the opportunity of electing credible representatives.

 The party said the exclusion is an orchestrated plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) because they know that Labour Party on the ballot will trounce their lowly rated candidates.

A statement by the newly appointed Interim National Publicity Secretary, Prince Tony Akeni, said LP believes that the leadership crisis orchestrated by Julius Abure is not enough to exclude Labour Party from the by-elections since the Supreme Court recognised the Senator Nenadi Usman-led Interim Na­tional Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the Labour Party.

Akeni said Abure and his sympathisers have proved once more by these by-elections that they were on a mission to de­stroy the “party’s strong electoral potentials on behalf of their well-known paymasters.”

The National Publicity Secre­tary added that the party consid­ers the exclusion as a violation of the Nigerian constitution, as well as a “flagrant disobedience to the judgment of the highest court of the land for INEC to exclude a registered political party from participating in an election.”

It said INEC cannot deny that it is not in possession of the certified true copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed Senator Usman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as leaders of the Labour Party.

Continuing, the statement apologised to candidates who had prepared to contest the by-elec­tions on the platform of the party but were denied the opportunity at the last hour.

It said, “We know that given a level playing ground, with your sterling qualities as candidates and our party’s masses serving ideology, you were poised to win overwhelmingly.

“We feel your pains know­ing that you prepared at much cost, suffered the rigours of campaigns, assets mobilisation, logistics losses and psychological trauma as you were, and at the last minute, denied your consti­tutional rights and opportunities to contest the elections by the tri­partite conspiracy of Abure’s ex­pired council and INEC’s delayed interpretation and execution of the Supreme Court judgment of April 4, following the scripts of their common masters.

“We call on you to remain steadfast to the call, cause and concourse of the Labour Party’s unmatched masses driven ideol­ogy for good governance. Remain steadfast and ready to fight anoth­er day.

“Through your clear-headed manifestos, which are undoubted­ly a reflection of Peter Obi’s ideol­ogy for good governance delivery and a Nigeria that works for all, Nigeria shall be free one day, and that day is not far away.

“To prepare for that day our council is doing everything nec­essary to have INEC fully, un­equivocally and expeditiously recognise the brand new leader­ship of the Labour Party, ready and ship-shape for all elections here forward.

“This is so that the ballot apart­heid and franchise robbery that excluded LP candidates from the August 16 by-elections of our country will never re-occur in any manner. Never again.

“Working together with His Excellency Peter Obi, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, His Excellen­cy Governor Alex Otti, all serving senators, House of Representa­tives and other elected members of our great party, we are poised to reposition Labour Party for the 2027 elections ahead.

“Our country is in dire dan­gers in multiple fronts from the havoc of misrule, pandemic inse­curity, corruption and marathon foreign borrowings in a reckless manner primed to plunge our present and future generations into epic macro-economic sui­cide.

“Labour Party is calling on all Nigerians to join hands to salvage our party’s lost opportunities, re­deem our stolen progress and re­gain our once hard-earned acres of Papa-Mama-Pikin political space.”

It further called on the organ­ised labour, civil society groups and the pro-democracy commu­nity of Nigeria to rally round the call for the political liberation of Nigeria.

LP’s NEC Targets 10m In Ambitious New Membership Drive

Meanwhile, the Labour Party (LP) has said it targets an addi­tional 10 million new members into the party, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Interim National Chairman of the party, Sen. Nenadi Usman, made the revelation on Monday during an online people’s parlia­ment programme hosted by Coali­tion for the Defence of Democracy (COPDEM).

She said the membership re­cruitment drive was approved by the National Executive Council (NEC) as part of measures to po­sition the party as a strong force in the 2027 poll.

Stressing that the member­ship recruitment campaign will be comprehensive, the interim national chairman expressed confidence that the new process­es approved by NEC “will be com­pleted before the end of this year, ensuring that the Labour Party is well-prepared to contest and win in 2027.”

Senator Usman also addressed issues surrounding the leadership tussle in the party.

She accused the erstwhile na­tional chairman, Julius Abure, of trying to foist himself on the party even after the Supreme Court declared that his tenure was over.

This is as she explained that added to Abure’s actions, the party was further hit by a wave of defection by officials elected on its platform who defected to other political parties.

“Beyond the leadership tus­sle, one of the major challenges we faced recently was the wave of defections by some of our elected officials.

“While intimidation from the ruling party cannot be dismissed, we must also accept some respon­sibility.

“The meteoric rise of the La­bour Party in 2023 meant that, in many cases, candidates were field­ed without thorough background checks. Going forward, this will change.

“Part of our reforms is to en­sure that only individuals who genuinely share the philosophy and values of the Labour Party will fly our flag.

“Our platform will not be a mere stepping stone for oppor­tunists, but a home for patriots committed to service and trans­formation,” she added.

The former Minister of fi­nance, now Labour Party leader, further lamented the conduct of the 2023 elections, saying, “As you are aware, though the Labour Party was formally registered by INEC in 2002, it was in 2023 that the fortunes of our party changed dramatically. With the determina­tion of the Nigerian people, espe­cially our vibrant youths, the La­bour Party shook the foundations of the political establishment.

“We secured one governorship seat, 8 senatorial seats, 34 seats in the House of Representatives, and tens of seats in various state Houses of Assembly. That unprec­edented performance was a loud testament to the people’s desire for change.

“Although INEC did not de­clare our presidential candidate victorious, millions of Nigerians did not agree with that outcome.

“We pursued justice up to the Supreme Court, but the apex court, in its wisdom, sustained INEC’s controversial pronounce­ment. As a law-abiding party, we respected the finality of the judg­ment, even though we strongly disagreed with it.

“Determined to learn from that experience, we returned to the drawing board to strengthen the structures of our party.

“Sadly, our internal reorgani­sation was soon disrupted by an avoidable crisis. A former nation­al chairman, whose tenure had long expired, attempted to force himself back into office.

“This matter also went up to the Supreme Court, and in a landmark judgment on 4th April 2025, the apex court affirmed that his tenure had indeed lapsed and unequivocally validated my lead­ership of the party.

“Unfortunately, despite the clarity of that judgment, a few individuals – working in conniv­ance with external forces – have continued to wage war against the Labour Party.

“Ironically, these outside forces are the same forces who benefited from the Supreme Court’s ruling against our presidential petition, but now openly encourage disobe­dience to the court’s judgment on our leadership.

“Let me be clear: this is not just an attack on the Labour Party; it is part of a broader attempt to de­stabilise virtually all opposition parties in Nigeria.

“Thankfully, the confusion was further laid to rest on Friday, 15th August 2025, when a Federal High Court in Abuja reaffirmed the ex­piration of the former chairman’s tenure, aligning with both the ear­lier Supreme Court judgment and INEC’s own affidavit.

“Having provided this back­ground, let me assure you that there is hope. The Labour Party, under my leadership, is actively working to reposition itself as a strong and competitive platform ahead of 2027.

“The National Executive Council (NEC) of our party has approved several stra­tegic programmes. Among them are a comprehensive membership registration and revalidation drive, with a tar­get of enrolling 10 million new members.

“A series of ward, local govern­ment, and state congresses, culmi­nating in a national convention to elect substantive leadership.

“It is our firm commitment that these processes will be com­pleted before the end of this year, ensuring that the Labour Party is well-prepared to contest and win in 2027.

“Yes, we have faced setbacks. But the Labour Party is resil­ient, and we are already turning the tide. With the reforms being implemented, we are poised not only to replicate but to surpass the successes of 2023.

“In conclusion, I urge you all to move beyond passive observation. Dedicate yourselves to active par­ticipation in shaping the future of our party and our country.”