Labour Party factions trade blows over Nasarawa court order

Fresh crisis has erupted in the Labour Party following a Nasarawa State High Court order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the Julius Abure-led faction upload names of its candidates for the forthcoming Federal Capital Territory council elections.

While Abure’s camp is celebrating the ruling as a win for democracy, the Senator Nenadi Usman-led interim leadership has dismissed it as “desperation” and “forum shopping.”

National Publicity Secretary of the Abure faction, Obiora Ifoh, hailed the judgement, saying it would “right the many wrongs” against what he called the authentic leadership of the party. He accused INEC of deliberately frustrating Labour Party candidates by denying them adequate time to campaign, citing similar experiences during past elections.

The court, in suit number NSD/LF.84/2024, granted an interlocutory order on July 23, 2025, recognising Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as the party’s leaders and directing INEC to issue them access codes to upload their candidates’ names.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Senator Usman said the order was “inconsequential” and obtained from a court without jurisdiction over the matter. In a statement by her media aide, Ken Asogwa, she alleged that Abure had a history of forgery and was acting in contempt of an April 4 Supreme Court judgement that removed him from office.

She accused the Abure camp of being sustained by an “unholy alliance” with the APC-led Federal Government, aimed at weakening the Labour Party and undermining democratic institutions.