Julius Abure No Longer Labour Party Chairman— INEC Declares

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that it does not recognise Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), declaring his continued claim to the position as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

According to INEC, Abure-led national working committee’s tenure expired in June 2024.

In a counter-affidavit filed by INEC, the electoral body responded to a lawsuit by the Labour Party, which challenged its exclusion from the commission’s refresher training for uploading party agents ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.

INEC argued that the party’s leadership, including Abure, is invalid and that the March 2024 National Convention that re-elected Abure as chairman violated both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.

“It only deals with parties that have legitimate leadership in place,” INEC declared.

The electoral body, through its legal team led by Tanko Inuwa, SAN, also stated that the Labour Party's suit sought declaratory reliefs that could not be granted based on admissions alone, asserting that the party needed to prove its case.

Due to the failure of the Labour Party to meet legal requirements for holding its national convention, INEC argued, the party no longer has valid leadership.

The commission urged the court to dismiss the Labour Party’s suit, maintaining, “The Labour Party is not entitled to the reliefs it is seeking.”