The Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld Julius Abure’s leadership as the National Chairman of the Labour Party, affirming his position in a ruling issued on Tuesday. Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to officially recognize and validate the Abure-led administration of the party.

This decision also confirmed the legitimacy of the March 2024 national convention that appointed Abure and his executive team. Justice Nwite stated, “Based on the solid evidence presented, the attempts to challenge the legitimacy of the leadership are unsuccessful. The Labour Party has established its case, and I hereby direct the defendant to grant the party, under Barrister Julius Abure, all the rights and privileges afforded to a duly registered political party in Nigeria.”

The Labour Party initiated the lawsuit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024 against INEC, which was the sole defendant. The court was asked to determine if the party is entitled to receive notices for refresher training regarding the upload of political party agents on INEC’s portal ahead of the Ondo State Governorship Election scheduled for November 16, 2024. Additionally, the Labour Party sought an order requiring INEC to recognize Abure’s leadership and to award 5 million naira in legal costs for the proceedings.

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The backdrop of this ruling comes after INEC had previously declared that it did not recognize Abure as the party’s National Chairman. This declaration led the Labour Party to accuse its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor Alex Otti, of disloyalty.

In its defense, INEC challenged the Labour Party’s claim of exclusion from its training sessions for agent uploads prior to the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections. Represented by Tanko Inuwa (SAN), INEC contended that the party’s requests for declaratory relief could not be granted based solely on admissions and that evidence was needed to support their claims.

INEC maintained that Abure’s leadership, along with the legitimacy of the March 2024 National Convention, was in violation of both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, asserting that it engages only with parties that have legally established leadership. Consequently, INEC urged the court to dismiss the Labour Party’s lawsuit.

This ruling comes after a previous order in April 2023 by Justice Hamza Muazu, which prohibited Abure and National Secretary Farouk Ibrahim from claiming leadership roles in the party. The order also barred National Organising Secretary Clement Ojukwu and Treasurer Oluchi Opara from presenting themselves as executives.