Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled in favor of Julius Abure as the legitimate chairman of the Labour Party, endorsing his leadership and validating the results of the March 2024 Nnewi convention. The court’s decision also mandated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to acknowledge Abure as the rightful leader of the party, countering INEC’s prior assertion that Abure’s leadership was invalid.

In his ruling, Justice Nwite emphasized that the documents submitted by Abure and his team were substantial and verifiable, rejecting the defendants’ efforts to challenge Abure’s legitimacy. He concluded that Abure’s leadership had been adequately demonstrated and ordered INEC to grant the Labour Party under Abure all rights and privileges accorded to a duly registered political party in Nigeria.

Previously, INEC had contended that the Labour Party’s national convention, held in March 2024, violated both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, claiming that Abure’s term as chairman was set to expire in June 2024. INEC argued that the Labour Party did not fulfill the legal requirements necessary to conduct the convention and re-elect Abure, asserting that the party’s leadership was thus invalid.

The electoral body’s objections arose following a lawsuit filed by the Labour Party, which contested its exclusion from INEC’s training program for party agents ahead of the upcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections. INEC, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Tanko Inuwa, maintained that the Labour Party had not met the necessary legal conditions to hold its convention and, as such, lacked a valid leadership structure.

Justice Nwite’s ruling now formally recognizes Julius Abure as the chairman of the Labour Party, requiring INEC to engage with the party under his leadership.