The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that controversial National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, could no longer parade himself as head of the opposition political organisation.
Making the development known in a counter-affidavit filed in response to a suit brought by the Abure-led LP, INEC said the tenure of Abure and other members of his national working committee expired since June 2024.
At a convention held in Nnewi, Anambra LP had supposedly reelected Abure as National Chairman on March 27, 2024, a stiffly step opposed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other stakeholders.
Last month, former Finance Minister, Senator Nenadi Usman, was appointed National Caretaker Chairman by a strong gathering of key stakeholders, including the party’s Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State’s Governor Alex Otti.
LP had gone to court to challenge its exclusion from the commission’s refresher training for uploading party agents ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
According to the commission’s affidavit, LP’s leadership, including Abure, was now invalid.
INEC said it did not recognise the party’s March 2024 National Convention, which purportedly re-elected Abure as Chairman and his cohorts as party officers.
The commission said the convention contravened both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
In the written submission supporting the counter-affidavit, INEC’s legal team, led by Tanko Inuwa, SAN, stated that the LP’s suit sought declaratory reliefs that could not be granted merely by admission.
The INEC’s lawyers added that, due to the Labour Party’s failure to adhere to the legal requirements in holding its national convention, the party no longer has a valid leadership with which INEC can engage.
They prayed the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the Labour Party is not entitled to the reliefs it is seeking.
