Labour Party Split: Leadership Dispute Intensifies As Apapa, Abure, And Obi’s Groups Assert Control

In a statement signed by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, Apapa argued that the judgment, delivered by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, rendered the Court of Appeal’s recognition of Julius Abure as national chairman invalid. Apapa asserted that the ruling places him in the position to assume leadership of the party, as he was the most senior National Deputy Chairman at the time.

Apapa’s dramatic return after a year-long absence has intensified the ongoing power struggle with the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee, which has the backing of prominent figures such as Governor Alex Otti and 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi.

According to Apapa, the Supreme Court ruling paves the way for his leadership. He pointed to the judgment as a clear endorsement of his claim to the national chairmanship, despite Usman and other party leaders supporting Abure.

In his statement, Apapa announced that his faction’s National Working Committee (NWC), which was recognized in 2022, would meet next Monday (April 14, 2025) to discuss crucial matters, including the party’s zoning arrangements.

The statement read, “Following the dismissal of the cross-appeal filed by the ousted former National Chairman, Julius Abure, also by the Supreme Court on April 4, 2025, all actions and decisions taken by Julius Abure since April 4, 2023, are null and void.”

It continued: “In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court to set aside judgments that recognize the leadership of Julius Abure as National Chairman, I, Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa, the most senior deputy national chairman, hereby take over the running of the party, in an acting capacity, effective today, with Alhaji Farouk Umar Ibrahim as National Secretary.”

Apapa’s faction also announced that the National Working Committee from 2022 would convene on April 14 to announce their plans, including the zoning of the National Chairman’s position to the North and the National Secretary’s position to the South.

Meanwhile, supporters of Obi and Otti celebrated the arrival of the official CTC of the Supreme Court judgment. During a Labour Party Stakeholders Engagement in Abuja, Abia State Governor Otti presented the 48-page CTC, asserting that the document had resolved the debate on the misinterpretation of the verdict.

Otti declared, “We welcome the Supreme Court judgment of last Friday. The 48-page document is clear in stating that it is all of you seated here that constitute the leadership of the party. We are law-abiding people, and we followed the process as outlined in the court judgment.”

Otti further explained that despite opposition from other factions, they had adhered to the court’s ruling and expected all those committed to democracy and the nation’s progress to accept it.

Present at the event were Peter Obi, Senator Victor Umeh, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, and several other prominent figures, including members of the National Assembly and chieftains of the Obidient Movement. Their jubilation intensified as Otti read excerpts of the document, which confirmed the judgment in favor of Usman and Nwokocha’s faction.

Otti concluded, “The judgment confirms that both trial courts and the one below had no jurisdiction to entertain the first respondent, Julius Abure.”