BREAKING: INEC confirms Abure as LP Chairman, Anyanwu as PDP Secretary

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has formally acknowledged Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) and Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

An update on INEC’s official website reflects these leadership positions, along with the inclusion of Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim as LP’s National Secretary.

According to INEC, the listing of Labour Party officials followed a court order. However, the commission did not clarify whether a similar legal directive was responsible for the recognition of Anyanwu within the PDP.

As reported by Politics Nigeria, the development comes after the Supreme Court overturned previous rulings by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal that had removed Abure from office.

The apex court concluded that the leadership dispute within the Labour Party was an internal affair and not within the courts’ jurisdiction.

Abure, following the verdict, continued to assert his position as party chairman, arguing that the ruling reaffirmed his legitimacy.

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State later submitted a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court decision to INEC, saying the move aimed to promote clarity and ensure institutional consistency within the party.

Nonetheless, both Otti and the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, supported a Caretaker Committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman, interpreting the Supreme Court’s ruling as a removal of Abure’s leadership.

An INEC official, however, clarified that the decision to restore Abure’s name followed an internal review of the CTC, which indicated that the Supreme Court had not made a final determination on the core issues.

Instead, it ruled that the lower courts lacked jurisdiction, thereby reinstating the status quo.

A similar Supreme Court judgment favoured Senator Anyanwu in his leadership dispute within the PDP. The court ruled that the challenge to his position was also a party matter that should not have been entertained by lower courts in the first place.