The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has vowed to appeal the judgement of the Federal High Court, FCT Division, which removed him as the party’s national chairman.

Recall that the court recognised the caretaker committee led by a former finance minister Nenadi Usman.

Delivering judgement, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the April 4, 2025 decision of the Supreme Court was clear that the tenure of Mr Abure as national chairman of the LP had elapsed.

However, reacting to the verdict on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Abure-led faction, Obiora Ifoh, described the judgement as a clear contradiction of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In a statement in Abuja, Mr Ifoh claimed that the apex court expressly held that no court had the power to appoint the leadership of a political party, stressing that leadership matters were strictly internal affairs of political parties.

Mr Ifoh said, “The party is happy that the Federal High Court is not the final court. We will immediately appeal the judgement and place our position before the Court of Appeal.

“Although have are yet to obtain the Certified True Copy of the judgement to fully study it, our position will become even stronger once we do. From the brief we have received so far, it is clear that this judgement will be appealed.”

Mr Ifoh alleged that the party had earlier suspected the outcome of the case based on developments surrounding the proceedings.

“When the matter was first filed, it was assigned to Justice Omotosho. Suddenly, another suit containing similar materials was filed, the one before Justice Omotosho was withdrawn, and the case was reassigned to Justice Peter Lifu. That was our first red flag.

“Second, the court denied us the opportunity to respond to issues raised in a counter-affidavit filed by other parties and hurriedly adjourned for judgement. That was another red flag,” he said.

The party also accused its opponents of celebrating a judgement that had not yet been delivered.

“Our adversaries were jubilating weeks before the judgement, all over social media, claiming that the judiciary would hand over the party to Governor Alex Otti. That jubilation raised serious concerns,” Mr Ifoh stated.

He further argued that the judgement
contradicted earlier rulings of superior courts.

“Nigerians should recall that the Court of Appeal had earlier pronounced Julius Abure’s National Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the party. That was the decision Senator Nenadi Usman challenged at the Supreme Court, arguing that courts lacked the power to appoint party leadership.

“Ironically, today, a Federal High Court has gone ahead to pronounce a caretaker leadership for the party. This is a clear contradiction of the Supreme Court’s position,” he said.

According to Mr Ifoh, the Supreme Court never ruled that Mr Abure’s tenure had expired but merely declined jurisdiction on the matter on the grounds that it was an internal party affair.

He stated, “The Supreme Court never said our tenure had expired. It only declined jurisdiction because leadership matters are internal affairs of political parties.”

He further explained that the tenure of the party’s leadership had not lapsed, noting that a valid national convention was held before the expiration of the previous executive.

“Our tenure was to expire in June 2024, but a national convention was validly held in March 2024, before the expiration of the former executive, which produced the current leadership. So the claim of a vacuum in leadership is laughable,” he said.

Mr Ifoh questioned how the court arrived at the conclusion that a vacuum existed without examining the legality of the March 27, 2024 national convention.

The party urged its members to remain calm, assuring them that legal steps would be taken to protect the party’s interests.

“The Labour Party is not for sale. No amount of financial inducement will make us abdicate our leadership position. We will pursue justice within the confines of the law,” the statement added.