Labour Party’s war of attrition seems to be on the ascendency as factions loyal to Senator Nenadi Usman and Julius Abure, on Thursday clashed over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recognition of Abure as the party’s national chairman.
In a statement issued by Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to Senator Nenadi Usman, the faction accused the former Acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, of “criminal collusion” with Abure to rely on a “fabricated” court order purportedly recognizing him as Chairman during the commission’s meeting last week with party chairmen.
The faction claimed that “no such court order exists” and that INEC’s acting leadership “willfully relied on a fabricated and non-existent order to justify an illegal and politically motivated act.”
The faction challenged Agbamuche-Mbu to produce the alleged court order, describing her action as “fraudulent and politically tainted.”
Asogwa also called for the former INEC acting Chairman arrest and prosecution.
He warned that supporters would embark on a peaceful occupation of INEC headquarters until the Commission “fully complies with the binding Supreme Court judgment affirming Senator Nenadi Usman’s leadership.”
However, countering Asogwa’s statement, the Abure-led faction condemned the statement as “reckless and defamatory,”
They warned that it would petition the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) against Asogwa for describing a valid court order as fake.
The statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party loyal to Abure, Obiora Ifoh reads: “The so-called press statement was a clear attempt to blackmail the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its acting Chairman, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, for obeying a validly issued court order.”
Ifoh added that the faction had instructed its counsel to write to Asogwa, who is also a lawyer, demanding a retraction within 72 hours or face a petition to the NBA.
The National Publicity Secretary accused the Usman faction of “ignorance and political desperation.” Just as he insisted that INEC acted appropriately by recognizing Abure in line with a subsisting court order.
Recall that the Labour Party has been embroiled in leadership tussles since early 2024. This is even as conflicting court judgments have compounded rival claims on the National Chairman of the party between the two factions.