Court Affirms Julius Abure As Labour Party Chairman

Julius Abure has been confirmed as the legitimate Chairman of the Labour Party.

In a ruling on Tuesday, October 8, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, upheld the leadership of Abure and validated the national convention held in March 2024 in Nnewi, which resulted in the establishment of the party’s national leadership.

Additionally, Justice Nwite directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to acknowledge Abure as the rightful chairman, countering the Commission’s previous position that deemed Abure’s leadership as invalid.

He said: “I am of the view that and so hold that the basis of these cogent verifiable documents, the defendants attempt to impeach the validity of the leadership of the plaintiff fails.

‘The plaintiff has proved his case. I hereby make an order compelling the defendant to accord the plaintiff’s political party under the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure all the rights and privileges accorded a political party duly registered in Nigeria.”

INEC contended that the Labour Party’s national assembly broke the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, arguing that the party did not fulfill the necessary legal criteria for organizing the assembly.

The Electoral authority declared that Julius Abure is no longer the head of the Labour Party, pointing out that his position ended in June 2024 following a legal challenge by the Labour Party against their exclusion from INEC’s refresher training for registering party agents before the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections.

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INEC claimed that the Labour Party’s national assembly in March 2024, which confirmed Abure as the chairman, was in violation of both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. Consequently, INEC contended that the Labour Party’s leadership was not recognized, and they only work with parties that have established legitimate leadership.

The legal department of INEC, headed by Tanko Inuwa, SAN, highlighted that the Labour Party’s lawsuit was for declaratory reliefs, which cannot be awarded based on just admissions and that the party must provide evidence to support their case. Given the Labour Party’s failure to satisfy the legal prerequisites for their national assembly, INEC argued that the party’s leadership was no longer considered valid.