INEC LISTS NENADI USMAN AS LABOUR PARTY CHAIR AFTER COURT RULING

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised the Nenadi Usman-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party (LP), following a court order directing the electoral body to do so.

Checks on the INEC website on Friday showed Usman listed as chairperson of the party’s caretaker committee, alongside other officials, including Senator Darlington Nwokocha, who is named as National Secretary.

The recognition follows a January 21, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified the leadership of Julius Abure as National Chairman of the party.

In the ruling, Justice Peter Lifu relied on an earlier Supreme Court judgment, which affirmed Usman as the legitimate leader of the party, and consequently ordered INEC to recognise the Usman-led NWC as the party’s leadership pending the conduct of a national convention.

Justice Lifu held that evidence before the court showed that Abure’s tenure had expired, stressing that the establishment of a caretaker committee was necessary in line with the Supreme Court’s decision.

The ruling has further deepened the leadership crisis within the opposition party, which has been embroiled in internal disputes since the aftermath of the 2023 general elections.

However, the Abure-led faction has rejected the judgment and vowed to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Obiorah Ifoh, criticised the court’s decision, arguing that leadership disputes within political parties are internal matters that should not attract judicial intervention.

Ifoh insisted that the Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed Abure’s committee as the authentic leadership of the party, adding that the latest ruling contradicted the Supreme Court’s position on party autonomy.

The Labour Party has continued to grapple with internal instability following the exit of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who recently defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).Next