In no distant time, the Labour Party of Nigeria will be completely deserted following the intractable leadership crisis which has continued to tear down the party.
Latest among the key figures who have left the party, is Chief Oseloka Obaze, an ally of Mr. Peter Obi and former Secretary to the Anambra State Government.
News Band reported that the Labour Party has been in great turmoil after the 2023 general elections.
Former executives and members of the party attributed the crisis facing LP to the obnoxious ambition of Abure.
The tenure of Abure as the National Chairman of the party elapsed on June 9, 2024, but a national convention he held at Nnewi, Anambra State on 27th March 2024, was rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The electoral commission rejected the outcome of the convention for being in contravention of the Labour Party Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC Guidelines and Regulations for Political Parties 2022.
Also, the Supreme Court on April 4, 2025, removed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the party.
In a unanimous judgment, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had recognised Abure as the party’s national chairman.
The apex court in its decision, held that the appellate court lacked the jurisdiction to make such a declaration, given that the substance of the case concerned the internal leadership of the party.
The court stressed that matters relating to party leadership are internal affairs, over which the judiciary has no jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court noted that the appeal filed by Senator Esther Usman and another was allowed, having been found to be meritorious.
The court also observed that, based on the submissions before it, Abure’s tenure had already expired.
Consequently, it dismissed the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the Labour Party.
But despite the court ruling, Abure has refused to step down and stop parading himself as the national chairman of the party.
This has continued to generate serious crisis in the Labour Party, forcing some prominent figures to resign.
However, Oseloka Obaze in a letter addressed to the chairman of his Ochuche Ward in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, dated Sunday, May 4, 2025, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Labour Party’s conduct in the April 5, 2025, Anambra State governorship primary.
He described the entire process as lacking transparency, laced with irregularities, and falling short of democratic standards.
According to him, the conduct of the primary election violated the Labour Party’s constitution and its stated core values.
“The processes, conduct and outcome of the Labour Party governorship primaries held on April 5, 2025, in Awka, were fraught with outright irregularities, bordering on fraud and criminality”, the letter partly reads.
Obaze further noted that the party’s leadership at the national level had failed to resolve the ongoing rift between two factions one loyal to Julius Abure and the other to Nenadi Usman.
He said the failure to reconcile both sides deepened the crisis within the party and made it difficult for loyal members to remain committed.
Obaze added that the internal conflicts, along with the poor handling of the primary election, were clear signs that the party had lost direction.
While he did not reveal whether he would join another political platform, Obaze made it clear that he no longer associates with the Labour Party.
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