Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has called for the arrest of embattledLabour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, accusing him of impersonation and undermining judicial authority following the recent judgment of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reacting to the announcement of his \u201csuspension\u201d by Abure, Governor Otti described the move as \u201ca desperate act by a clown in search of a crown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Otti asserted that the Supreme Court had definitively ruled that Abure is no longer the party\u2019s National Chairman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He urged the Inspector General of Police to arrest Abure and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to fully implement the apex court\u2019s judgment to preserve the rule of law and protect Nigeria\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe statement issued by Abure and his gang of comedians is not only a joke taken too far, but also an affront to democracy by a group of inconsequential irritants desperate to exploit Governor Otti\u2019s name to further their selfish economic agenda,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ekeoma said the Supreme Court ruling, which affirmed the installation of a National Caretaker Committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman in line with the Labour Party\u2019s constitution, stripped Abure of any authority to act on behalf of the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He alleged that Abure rushed to announce Otti\u2019s suspension only hours after being summoned by the Caretaker Committee to answer charges of gross misconduct, including allegations of financial misappropriation, impersonation, and anti-party activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe urge Nigerians to disregard Abure\u2019s laughable claims and continue to see him and his co-conspirators as a troupe of clowns desperately seeking a crown they do not deserve,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission, on Thursday, refuted widespread media reports claiming it had recognised Abure as Labour Party Chairman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
INEC, in a statement released Thursday, described the reports as \u201cfalse and misleading,\u201d clarifying that no official recognition had been granted to any individual in the ongoing leadership disputes within either party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur attention has been drawn to some media reports claiming that the commission has recognised certain persons as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the Labour Party. The reports also inferred that the commission has restored a particular individual as the National Secretary of the PDP, referring to the listings on the Commission\u2019s official website,\u201d said Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oyekanmi explained that Abure\u2019s name and that of LP National Secretary Umar Ibrahim were uploaded to the INEC website based on a prior court order unrelated to the recent Supreme Court judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He clarified that INEC had not made any fresh decisions following the apex court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the same manner, the name of the National Secretary of the PDP on the same website was neither deleted nor reinstated,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On April 4, 2025, the Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal that had recognised Abure as Labour Party Chairman, declaring that the appellate court lacked jurisdiction over internal party affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Labour Party subsequently appointed Senator Nenadi Usman as the leader of a new Caretaker Committee to steer the party forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In line with the ruling, a delegation led by Governor Otti visited INEC headquarters in Abuja on April 9 and submitted a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court\u2019s judgment to the electoral body, pressing for its immediate enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, the Supreme Court had in March dismissed lower court decisions removing Senator Samuel Anyanwu from PDP leadership, affirming that such matters are internal to political parties and beyond the jurisdiction of regular courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
INEC emphasised its commitment to due process and stated that it is currently studying the implications of the Supreme Court judgment and will make its official position known in due course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has called for the arrest of embattledLabour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, accusing him of impersonation and undermining judicial authority following the recent judgment of the Supreme Court. Reacting to the announcement of his \u201csuspension\u201d by Abure, Governor Otti described the move as \u201ca desperate act by a clown in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":88893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t