The Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria is going through a big leadership problem. Three people – Julius Abure, Lamidi Apapa, and Nenadi Usman – are all claiming to be the party’s National Chairman. Now, everyone is waiting for INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) to decide who it will officially recognize.

Lamidi Apapa recently announced that he is now the party’s acting National Chairman. He said this is based on a Supreme Court decision made on April 4th, which canceled all previous court rulings that supported Julius Abure’s leadership. Apapa claimed that, according to the party’s constitution, he is now the rightful leader.

Before this Supreme Court ruling, the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee had already removed Abure and set up a 29-member caretaker committee. This committee is led by former senator Nenadi Usman, and it is supported by well-known party members like Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti.

However, the situation became more confusing when the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiorah Ifoh, said the Supreme Court never ruled that Abure’s leadership had ended.

He said the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement shows that the court didn’t order Usman’s group to take over. According to Ifoh, Abure was elected in March 2024 and is still serving his four-year term.

Ifoh also accused Apapa of working with some people to bring Abure down. He warned that any meeting held outside the party’s rules is illegal and can’t be accepted.

Now, the main question is: Who will INEC recognize as the true leader of the Labour Party?

Recently, Governor Otti and other Labour Party leaders went to INEC’s headquarters in Abuja to present the Supreme Court judgement. INEC’s acting chairman, Mr. Sam Olumekun, promised that the commission will remain fair and follow the law.

Everyone is now waiting for INEC to decide who is the real leader of the Labour Party.