Chairperson of the Labour Party (LP) caretaker committee, Nenadi Usman, has dared Julius Abure to follow through on his threat to expose Peter Obi, Alex Otti and other key members aligned with her faction of the party.
Speaking during an appearance on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Friday, Usman dismissed Abure’s threats as bluster, challenging him to bring forward any evidence he claims to have.
Earlier in the week, Abure, the factional national chairman of the Labour Party, had accused Obi, Otti and others of hypocrisy over 2023 election funding, threatening to reveal damaging information.
“I am waiting for them—from top to bottom—to make any other move and I will open my mouth,” he said.
“And when I open my mouth, wherever they go, they will be like smelly eggs, rotten eggs that nobody will ever buy.”
In response, Usman said the Labour Party has documented evidence of Abure’s misconduct, some of which is already under police investigation.
“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,” she said.
Usman added, “We have a lot of things about him 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.”
A Party in Crisis
Usman described the current turmoil in the Labour Party as an assault on internal democracy, warning against the erosion of opposition values.
“Generally, you would agree with me that every democracy needs to have a vibrant opposition,” she said.
“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 argued that Abure’s term as national chairman has ended and that the LP was simply acting in line with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) directive to fill the leadership vacuum.
“Principally, the Labour Party leadership at some point had issues with INEC because the tenure of Abure and his NWC had come to an end,” she said.
“Which was why when INEC invited leaders of political parties, he attended the meeting and was told to step out with his secretary.”
Legal Battle and Supreme Court Ruling
After being sidelined by INEC, Abure went to court and initially won a ruling directing INEC to recognise him. However, Usman said the matter escalated to the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled that the lower courts lacked jurisdiction.
“We went to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court looked at the issue critically and said the two lower courts didn’t have any jurisdiction,” she said.
“They said his tenure was over, he is not the chairman, he’s no longer the chairman of the Labour Party.”
Usman quoted Justice Inyang Okoro’s judgment, which advised political leaders to leave office once their terms end. “Justice Okoro even went on to advise that ‘please, leaders, when your tenure comes to an end in an office, please kindly leave honourably,’” she added.
Despite the ruling, Abure’s name remains on the INEC website, but Usman stressed that this is only “by court order”—not by democratic election.
Caretaker Committee
Following INEC’s directive, the Labour Party’s national executive committee (NEC) decided to appoint a caretaker committee to oversee new congresses and elect fresh leadership from the ward to the national level.
She said Abure could still contest in a fresh election if he wants to lead the party again, accusing him of trying to cling to power through the courts.
“Even Julius Abure, if he still wants to remain chairman, he could go through the election,” she said.
“But he doesn’t want to go through election — his NWC, they don’t want to go through election.
“They just want to be using the courts to remain as leaders. I think that’s not good for opposition.”
