The leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party, on Saturday took another dimension as the party’s 29-member caretaker committee, established by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, rejected the Court of Appeal ruling that brought back Comrade Julius Abure as the national chairman.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday, upheld the party’s March 2024 national convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, and confirmed Abure as the authentic chairman.
Justice Hamma Barka, had dismissed two Separate appeals Filed by Senator Nenadi Usman, the caretaker committee, and the Independent national electoral commission (INEC).
He ruled that the Labour Party’s leadership disputes were non-justiciable and struck out an rarlier judgement delivered by the Federal High Court on October 8, 2024.
The appellate court declared that any rulings issued outside its jurisdiction were null and void.
But while reacting to the Court of Appeal ruling, the national Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman rejected the decision, saying it remains the authentic leadership body of the party and vowed that the committee would challenge the decision at the Supreme Court.
Senator Usman in a statement issued in Abuja and made available to newsmen, said the committee under his leadership, was entrusted with this responsibility by stakeholders during an emergency convention held on September 4, 2024.
Senator Usman and the committee’s National Secretary, Darlington Nwokocha, accused Abure of unlawfully parading himself as chairman and rejected the court’s verdict.
The caretaker committee, however, criticized the Appeal Court’s ruling and insisted on its legitimacy.
