The Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party has said it will immediately appeal the judgment of the Federal High Court in the FCT which recognised the Esther Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu relied on the April 4, 2025, verdict of the Supreme Court to declare Senator Nenadi Usman as the valid leader of the party.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party led by Abure, Obiora Ifoh, the party claimed that “the judgment was a clear contradiction of the Supreme Court judgment which clearly stated that no court has the power to appoint leadership for any political party and that leadership issues are internal affairs of political parties.”
The party said it was pleased that the Federal High Court in the FCT is not the final court and that it would proceed on appeal to place its position before the Court of Appeal.
Ifoh added: “Although we are yet to see the Certified True Copy of the judgment in order to fully comment on it, our position will become stronger when we do. However, from the brief we have received so far, it is clear that the party will appeal the judgment.
“Before today’s judgment, we suspected it might go this way because of the body language around the court. When the matter was first filed, it was assigned to Justice Omotosho, and suddenly there was a somersault, as another matter was filed which was similar in material respects. The one before Justice Omotosho was withdrawn and reassigned to Justice Peter Lifu. That was a red flag for us.
“Secondly, the court refused us the opportunity to respond to issues raised in the counter-affidavit filed by other parties and quickly adjourned for judgment. That was the second red flag.
“Our adversaries were all over the place jubilating weeks ahead of a judgment that had not been delivered, telling everyone they had already won. The jubilation by our adversaries was all over social media, claiming that today the judiciary would hand over the party to Dr Alex Otti.
“Looking at the judgment itself, Nigerians should recall that the Court of Appeal pronounced Julius Abure’s National Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the party. That pronouncement was what Nenadi Usman took to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal were wrong to have pronounced someone as the chairman of the party.
“Ironically, today, a Federal High Court has made a somersault and pronounced someone as the Caretaker National Chairman of the party. So what is the judiciary turning into?
“To us, this is a clear contradiction of what the Supreme Court said. The apex court held that all matters relating to the leadership of a political party are internal affairs of the party, and that has been its consistent position.
“The courts have repeatedly declined jurisdiction over matters concerning the internal affairs of political parties. In the judgment, the court, in one breath, said the Caretaker Committee was properly set up, and in another breath, said it was an internal affair of the party. In any event, the court was wrong to interpret the decision of the Supreme Court.
“Furthermore, the Supreme Court never said that our tenure had expired. It simply declined jurisdiction because the matter was an internal affair of the party.
“In any event, the tenure of the executive has never expired. The tenure was due to expire in June 2024, but the National Convention was held in March 2024 before the expiration of the executive, which produced the present leadership of the party. So for the court to state that the tenure had expired and that a vacuum was created is laughable.
“It is curious how the court arrived at the conclusion that there was a vacuum in the party’s leadership without examining the validity and legality of the national convention held on March 27, 2024.”
The Abure-led group, however, urged its members to remain calm, assuring them that the leadership would do everything within the law to ensure that justice is served in the interest of the party. It warned that the party is not for sale and that no amount of financial power would make it abdicate its leadership position.
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