Labour Party Turmoil Escalates as Nenadi Usman Challenges Julius Abure to Reveal Allegations Against Peter Obi, Alex Otti

      

A deepening rift within the Labour Party (LP) has taken a dramatic turn as Nenadi Usman, the newly appointed chairperson of the party's caretaker committee, issued a bold challenge to former national chairman, Julius Abure. Speaking during a live appearance on Channels Television, Usman addressed Abure’s public threats to expose damning information about the LP’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.

Her message was direct and emphatic: “Well, I am challenging him to expose us. If you have anybody to expose, you don’t go and talk now, you go and expose them.”

Abure had recently stated he possessed incriminating revelations about Obi and Otti, adding that once exposed, the duo would be viewed as "rotten eggs." However, his refusal to follow through on these claims has drawn sharp criticism from Usman, who questioned both the intent and timing of his threats.

Usman went further to accuse Abure of misconduct during his time as chairman. She revealed that several of his actions had been formally reported and were currently under investigation by law enforcement authorities.

“We have a lot of things about him,” she stated. “And that is why the people whom he did it to went to the police. The police are investigating him and very soon you will hear about it.”

The deep-seated crisis, Usman explained, goes beyond personal grievances and reflects a broader challenge to internal democracy within the party. She warned that the LP risks losing its essence as a true opposition force if such internal wranglings continue unchecked.

“Generally, you would agree with me that every democracy needs to have a vibrant opposition,” she noted. “So when the opposition wants to become part of the ruling party, then there’s a problem. And that is where we are today.”

Usman provided a detailed account of how the Labour Party arrived at its current leadership dispute. She asserted that Abure’s tenure had constitutionally expired, prompting the need to fill the leadership vacuum in accordance with the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

During a stakeholders' meeting with INEC, Usman recalled, Abure was asked to leave the venue — an indication that the electoral body no longer recognised his leadership. Despite this, Abure secured a court order mandating INEC to continue listing him as chairman.

Although he won the initial legal battles, Usman confirmed that the party pursued the matter up to the Supreme Court. According to her, the apex court ultimately ruled that the lower courts lacked jurisdiction over the matter and affirmed that Abure’s tenure had come to an end.

She quoted Justice Inyang Okoro, who delivered the Supreme Court’s verdict, as urging political leaders to respect term limits and not cling to power beyond their mandate.

“The supreme court looked at the issue critically and said the two lower courts didn’t have any jurisdiction. They said his tenure was over; he is not the chairman, he’s no longer the chairman of the Labour Party,” she said.

Usman also drew attention to a significant inconsistency on the INEC website, where Abure’s name appears with the label “by court order,” rather than as a result of an internal democratic process.

“It’s supposed to be by election — people get to be leaders of the party through election, not by court order,” she asserted.

The ongoing power tussle within the Labour Party comes at a time when the Nigerian political climate is particularly volatile. With general elections in the rearview mirror and various parties repositioning themselves ahead of future contests, the LP’s internal crisis could significantly impact its credibility and cohesion.

As the party navigates these troubled waters, all eyes remain on Julius Abure — not just for his threatened exposés, but also for how he chooses to respond to the growing pressure from within the ranks of a party still struggling to define its post-election identity.