The fate of Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) will now be decided by the Supreme Court as concluded by a caretaker committee of the party.

An Appeal Court's decision last week affirmed a lower court's decision that Abure is the rightful chairman of the party despite a caretaker committee sacking him from the position last year.

The committee is backed by the LP's 2023 Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the sole Governor elected on the party's platform in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, and other elected and critical stakeholders across the country who all met in Umuahia, the Abia State.

The committee, which has Senator Nenadi Usman as Chairman and Darlington Nwokocha as Secretary, are now seeking redress at the Supreme Court after failing at two lower courts.

In a press release made available to MyNigeria, the committee said the November 13, 2024, and January 17, 2025 rulings of the courts brought up issues that only the Supreme Court can clarify.

The committee, however, delighted in some areas in the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal.

According to the committee, the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal upheld the following:

"Lack of Jurisdiction: The Court of Appeal affirmed that Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, filed before the Federal High Court by Barr. Julius Abure was a leadership dispute over which the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction.

"Error by the Federal High Court: The Federal High Court erred and acted without jurisdiction by entertaining the leadership dispute brought before it by Barr. Julius Abure.

"Violation of Fair Hearing: The Federal High Court violated our right to a fair hearing by failing to consider our Counter-Affidavit filed in opposition to the suit before it.

"Accordingly, the Court of Appeal struck out the suit filed before the Federal High Court for lack of jurisdiction.

"It is important to address the erroneous and unsolicited finding by the Court of Appeal that, in a judgment, it delivered on 13th November 2024 in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024; LABOUR PARTY v. OLUSOLA EBISENI & ORS, Julius Abure was “admitted as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.” This finding is completely inconsistent with the substantive judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal.

"For clarity, the judgment delivered on 13th November 2024 in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 pertains to the nomination of a Governorship Candidate for the Ondo State Governorship Election. It has no connection whatsoever to the leadership dispute, which was the crux of the instant suit.

"Furthermore, we reiterate the established legal principle in Nigeria that courts lack jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of political parties, including leadership and management issues. Therefore, we commend the Court of Appeal for upholding the position that the leadership dispute in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024 is non-justiciable and outside the court's jurisdiction.

"Finally, we wish to remind the public that on 4th September 2024, the Labour Party constituted a National Caretaker Committee, appointing the undersigned, Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, as the National Caretaker Committee Chairman, and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as the National Caretaker Committee Secretary. Both have been diligently and effectively carrying out their duties to the admiration of stakeholders and the entire membership of the party."