By Amah
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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning, threatening to peacefully repossess all Labour Party offices across the country following the Supreme Court’s recent judgment declaring the tenure of Mr Julius Abure and his National Working Committee (NWC) as expired and illegal.
In a strongly worded statement signed by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the Congress accused Mr Abure of outright defiance of the apex court’s ruling delivered on Friday, 4 April 2025. The Supreme Court judgment, which clearly stated that Mr Abure and his NWC are no longer legally recognised as the leadership of the Labour Party, has reportedly been rejected by Abure in subsequent press statements.
Ajaero described Abure’s reaction as a “reckless assault against the grain of constitutionality and the rule of law,” condemning what he termed the former chairman’s “crass disdain for decency and utmost disrespect to Nigeria’s laws.” The NLC said Abure’s continuous self-declaration as party leader, despite the court’s unambiguous pronouncement, amounts to contempt and impunity.
The Congress rejected claims allegedly made by Abure that the NLC plans to attack Labour Party offices. “We will no longer condone the antics of inconsequential characters like Mr Julius Abure,” the statement read, calling on Nigerian workers and party members to stand firm against what it described as an “affront” to the nation’s legal system.
The NLC emphasised that the judgment of the Supreme Court must be upheld and warned that failure to do so would amount to the deconstruction of state institutions and a threat to national sovereignty.
“The leadership of the NLC Political Commission and other concerned Labour Party stakeholders will issue necessary directives to this effect,” the statement added.
Furthermore, the NLC called on the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service to enforce the Supreme Court judgment and enable the peaceful transition of leadership within the Labour Party. It warned that any failure by the security agencies to act would risk presenting Nigeria as a “banana republic.”
The NLC also directed a pointed appeal to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urging the electoral body to “remove every insignia of Mr Julius Abure and his National Working Committee from its portals” and implement the court’s ruling without delay.
To fill the leadership vacuum, the NLC recommended that the surviving institutional members of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) appoint an interim leadership to organise a Special National Convention in line with the party’s constitution and existing consent judgment.
“Any step outside these constitutional procedures will be an affront to the rule of law and would be tantamount to an unmitigable assault on constitutional rule. Such mischief will be stoutly resisted by Nigerian workers and people,” Ajaero concluded.
As the political tension surrounding the Labour Party intensifies, all eyes remain on the party’s NEC, security agencies, and INEC, whose responses in the coming days could shape the future of one of Nigeria’s major political parties. Tribune
