The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which recognized Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP.

In a unanimous decision on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court ruled that the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to pronounce Abure as the party’s leader. The justices held that leadership matters within political parties are internal affairs that the courts should not interfere with.

The ruling came after an appeal filed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and another party member. The Supreme Court upheld their arguments and declared that the lower court’s judgment was invalid.

The Court of Appeal had earlier upheld an October 8, 2024, judgment by the Federal High Court, which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognize Abure’s leadership and grant the LP under him all rights and privileges.

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Abure had been removed as chairman following a leadership crisis in the party, leading to the formation of a 29-member caretaker committee chaired by former Finance Minister Senator Esther Nenadi Usman.

Displeased with his removal, Abure took legal action and obtained a ruling from the Federal High Court affirming him as the LP chairman. The court also ordered INEC to grant him the necessary access for election preparations in Edo and Ondo states.

Despite the earlier ruling in his favor, the Supreme Court has now overturned all previous decisions, stating that the issue is beyond judicial intervention.

With this ruling, the leadership dispute within the Labour Party remains unresolved, party leaders will have to return to the drawing board for a solution to the LP leadership tussle.

Crediblenewsng.com