The protracted leadership crisis in Nigeria’s Labour Party (LP) has intensified, with the faction led by National Chairman Julius Abure issuing a stern warning to Abia State Governor Alex Otti, his deputy Ikechukwu Emetu, and allies of former presidential candidate Peter Obi to cease actions that could undermine the party, particularly plans for a parallel national convention.
In an exclusive interview, LP National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh condemned moves by the rival faction headed by Senator Nenadi Usman to organise a national convention on February 28, 2026, labelling it “illegal and futile.”
Ifoh was responding to the recent inauguration of a steering committee chaired by Deputy Governor Emetu, during which Usman, speaking virtually, announced a nationwide membership revalidation and fresh registration drive targeting 10 million Nigerians. She described the initiative as essential for repositioning the party ahead of greater responsibilities in the approaching election cycle.
The Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) rejected the exercise outright, insisting that Abure remains the legitimate national chairman and will employ all legal avenues to defend the current leadership.
“There can’t be any reaction from Governor Otti and his deputy because they know they are erring. These people are doing anti-party,” Ifoh stated, accusing Emetu of double standards for previously overseeing the convention that reaffirmed Abure’s leadership before now chairing a rival committee.
He alleged that Emetu was acting under pressure from Otti, adding: “There is no way he would say no to his boss.”
Ifoh cited recent court rulings, including a Supreme Court judgment involving the Social Democratic Party (SDP), as reinforcing the principle that parties must respect their internal mechanisms for leadership selection. He noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has complied with similar precedents.
Warning against further indiscipline, Ifoh said: “We are not in a Hobbesian society. If Otti wants to run for Labour Party chairman, he has to follow due process… You don’t wake up one morning and say you want to be the president of Nigeria. That is mutiny.”
He urged the group to focus on building the party rather than prolonging internal wrangling as the 2027 general elections loom.
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