INEC confirms Abure’s tenure as Labour Party chairman has expired

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may have finally laid to rest the controversy over the position of the Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party (LP) by confirming that the tenure of Julius Abure has expired

This was contained in a counter affidavit sworn to by the commission, in a suit number, FHC/ABJ/CS/1523/2025, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in response to an affidavit filed by Abure’s legal team.

Recall that the Abure-led leadership had approached the court to compel INEC to recognise its candidates for the August 16th by-election.

In the counter affidavit deposed to by Ayuba Mohammed, the commission’s executive officer (Litigation and Prosecution), INEC stated that the tenure of Julius Abure as the national chairman of LP, with its entire executive committee, expired as clearly stated in the Supreme Court judgment of April 4, 2025.

The Commission said it neither “monitored nor recognised the purported National Convention held in Nnewi on 27 March 2024, where Abure claimed he was re-elected as the LP National Chairman, having found it to be in flagrant breach of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, INEC’s own Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022, and the Labour Party Constitution.

Mohammed deposed that: “The defendant (INEC) cannot accept and issue access code for upload of candidates nomination forms EC9, EC9f and EC 9g for the bye-election scheduled for 16/8/2025 to plaintiff (Abure-led LP) as there were no valid National Chairman and National Secretary for defendants (LP), to deal with as provided in exhibit INEC 2.”

On the issue of the Nnewi Convention purportedly held by Abure, INEC affirmed that it neither monitored nor recognised the controversial March 27, 2024 ‘national convention’ in Anambra State where Abure claimed he was re-elected.

The Commission described the entire exercise as being “conducted in breach of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, INEC’s own guidelines, and the Labour Party’s constitution.”

INEC also referenced the Supreme Court’s April 4, 2025 judgment (Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025), which struck out the suit underpinning Abure’s claims for lack of jurisdiction, effectively nullifying all prior rulings that had purportedly affirmed his leadership.