Court of Appeal Affirms Nenadi Usman Labour Party Leadership

ABUJA, NIGERIA – The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed Julius Abure’s bid to reclaim leadership of the Labour Party, upholding Senator Nenadi Esther Usman as the legitimate national chairman.

A three-member panel of Justices Oyejoju Oyewumi, A. B. Mohammed and Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike delivered the unanimous verdict, describing the appeal as lacking merit and an abuse of court process.

NaijaChoice News reports that the decision in suit CA/ABJ/CV/255/2026 affirms an earlier Federal High Court ruling that aligned with the Supreme Court’s April 2025 pronouncement nullifying Abure’s controversial convention.

The appellate court agreed the lower court acted within its powers under Section 251 of the Constitution by ordering INEC to recognise only Usman’s leadership to the exclusion of all others.

It also endorsed the caretaker committee headed by Usman as a doctrine of necessity to fill the leadership vacuum that had plagued the party.

The justices slammed Abure for forum shopping at a Nasarawa State High Court and for persisting with a claim already settled by the apex court, slapping him with N10 million costs for wasting judicial time.

Senator Usman welcomed the judgment as a victory for democracy and the rule of law, commending the judiciary for standing firm against attempts to undermine it.

She thanked party members across the country for their loyalty during the uncertainty and called on all stakeholders to prepare for the party’s congresses and national convention ahead of the 2027 polls.

Abure immediately rejected the ruling, insisting it ran contrary to settled principles that party leadership remains an internal affair of political parties.

He maintained that his national working committee, elected at the valid Nnewi convention in March 2024, still has a subsisting four-year tenure and vowed to challenge the appeal court decision at the Supreme Court.