THE Julius Abure faction of the Labour Party (LP) has raised alarm over an alleged plan by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the National Caretaker Committee (NCC), and the National Transition Committee (NTC) to invade the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
This was disclosed by the National Secretary of the LP, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, in a statement issued on Sunday, April 7.
He said the target of the invasion is to cart away sensitive documents and also damage the properties belonging to the party.
The LP national secretary stated that the planned action could disrupt peace in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and viewed it as an irresponsible act and a sign of desperation for the NLC.
He also accused the NLC of engaging in partisan politics, which is prohibited by its founding laws, and cited past instances where the union allegedly mobilised thugs to attack the party’s national headquarters and vandalise its properties.
“It must be noted that the judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on the 5th of April, 2025, is very clear and unambiguous. The judgement simply mandates political parties to always resolve their crisis using internal mechanisms and that the issue of leadership is an internal affair of the political parties.
“There is nowhere in the judgement that gave NLC, the National Caretaker Committee, or any other body by whatever nomenclature to take over the leadership of the Labour Party,” Ibrahim stated.
He stated that Abure remains the national chairman after being validly elected at a March 2024 convention and warned that any attempt to forcibly take over the leadership would be resisted.
The faction urged security agencies, including the police and the Department of State Service (DSS), to prevent any activities that could disrupt peace in the FCT. They also called for the arrest and prosecution of anyone behind such actions, regardless of their position.
The ICIR reports that the Supreme Court sacked Abure as the national chairman of the LP on Friday, April 4.
The court set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which recognised Abure as chairman of LP.
The apex court in a unanimous judgment held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to declare Abure as the national chairman of the LP, having earlier decided that the case was about the party’s leadership.
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Nenadi Usman, a former senator who heads the caretaker committee of the LP.
INEC had earlier claimed that the LP’s national convention held in Nnewi violated the Nigerian Constitution and Electoral Act and failed to meet legal requirements.
The electoral body claimed Abure’s tenure as LP chairman expired in June 2024 and refused to recognise him as the party’s national chairman.
The commission stated this in response to a lawsuit filed by the LP challenging its exclusion from INEC’s refresher training for uploading party agents ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
The INEC’s legal team, led by Tanko Inuwa, a senior advocate, said that the LP’s lawsuit seeking declaratory reliefs would not be granted.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance