Abure Takes Labor leadership battle to Supreme Court, announces free forms for 2027 candidates

The chairman of the Labor Party’s National Fraction, Julius Abure, confirmed that his camp has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision to recognize Nenadi Usman as the party’s national chairman.

Abure made the announcement on Monday during a press conference in Abuja, where he also unveiled a policy providing free nomination forms to candidates wishing to contest under his party faction in the 2027 general elections.

The latest move deepens a leadership crisis rocking the Labor Party, which remains divided into rival camps following conflicting court decisions and disputes over control of the party’s national structure.

Speaking at the briefing, Abure said his faction had fulfilled its earlier promise to challenge the Court of Appeal decision at the apex court.

“Nigerians will remember that when the Court of Appeal issued its decision on April 21 regarding the Labor Party crisis, our leadership made it clear that the party would take the case to the Supreme Court,” he said.

“I am happy to announce that we have filed a notice of appeal and we are waiting for the compilation of our records so that we can properly file our report with the Supreme Court,” Abure added.

Although the legal dispute over the party leadership has not been resolved, Abure insisted that his faction will continue preparations for the 2027 elections and fully participate in the electoral process.

He revealed that all nomination forms under his leadership will be available for free through the party’s online platforms and structures across the country.

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“However, the Labor Party under our leadership will fully participate in the 2027 elections. Our forms are available, and candidates have taken the forms. All our forms can be accessed on the Labor Party’s social and online platforms for free,” he said.

The Faction Chair explained that this decision was necessary to ensure that interested members were not excluded from the pre-election process due to the ongoing legal uncertainty.

“You may want to know why we have chosen to participate fully in the upcoming elections despite the decision of the Court of Appeal. Of course, you are aware that for anyone to participate in pre-election matters, you must participate in all the processes leading up to the primaries, including purchasing nomination forms and complying with all INEC regulations,” he said.

“As a result, we have encouraged all of our members across the country who are interested in running for elected office to pick up the necessary forms for free so they can participate and be part of the process,” Abure added.

He further announced that the gubernatorial and state assembly primaries under his faction will be held on May 27, while the National Assembly primaries are scheduled for May 29, 2026.

Abure also revealed that his party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections will emerge through a consensus agreement in Abuja on May 29.

The Labor leader blamed the current internal crisis on what he described as “changes” made by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and alleged that the electoral body’s refusal to recognize his leadership was creating divisions within the party.

This new development comes just a day after a series of controversies involving Alex Otti and the party’s national leadership regarding the authenticity of nomination forms circulated ahead of the elections.

The Abure camp is facing accusations of ignoring court decisions and acting contrary to INEC’s position amid growing uncertainty over which faction is the legitimate leadership of the party.

The controversy intensified after photos emerged online showing Abure handing over Labor Party nomination forms to the former National Deputy Chairman of the party, Ceekay Igara, and other members of the party in Abia State.

Reacting to the development on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, warned aspirants against obtaining nomination forms from the Abure faction, describing the documents as “worthless paper.”

The Labor Party crisis continues to raise tensions within the opposition party as competing camps vie for legitimacy ahead of preparations for the 2027 general election.