A leadership crisis within Nigeria’s Labour Party deepened on Monday after a faction led by Julius Abure rejected reconciliation efforts by Abia State Governor Alex Otti, describing the move as insincere and premature.
The Abure-led National Working Committee said the legal battle over the party’s leadership was still ongoing and accused Otti of fuelling the crisis.
“We are not interested in any move by Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, to reconcile the party because he was the one who brought the crisis to the party in the first place,” party spokesman Obiora Ifoh said in an interview.
Ifoh said a recent court ruling cited by the opposing camp was only a decision of a court of first instance and should not be celebrated.
“This reconciliatory thing he is throwing around is of no use,” he said. “Why can’t he wait for the outcome of the appeal before deciding on such a move? Their celebration is a pyrrhic victory. The battle is not over.”
The rejection underscores the depth of division within the party despite recent court rulings and the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise a National Caretaker Committee led by Nenadi Usman.
Otti had earlier called for reconciliation during a meeting in Abuja with members of the party’s Board of Trustees, leaders of the caretaker committee and representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
The governor also expressed regret over the departure of the party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, describing it as a major setback.
“We have decided that there is a need to set up a reconciliation committee,” Otti said. “We appeal to Julius Abure and his team to sheathe their swords and come back to the party. If they abide by the rules of the party, we will be happy to see them back.”
Otti said the party would not participate in the upcoming Federal Capital Territory council elections and ruled out joining any opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Labour is already a coalition — the coalition of Nigerian workers and progressive-minded people,” he said.
He also praised INEC for implementing a Federal High Court judgment by replacing the Abure-led executives with the caretaker committee on its official portal. The Abure faction has described the move as hasty and prejudicial.
Meanwhile, Marcel Ngogbehei, director-general of the party’s Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration, blamed Otti and Obi for prolonging the crisis.
In a statement, Ngogbehei said Otti failed to consolidate the momentum from the party’s performance in the 2023 elections and accused him of deepening divisions by backing a caretaker committee.
“Caretaker committees are not neutral instruments; they are factional weapons,” he said, warning that the dispute had multiplied court cases and weakened party structures.
Ngogbehei also criticised Obi for failing to intervene decisively to reconcile the factions, saying his silence undermined party cohesion.
He warned that internal crises within opposition parties were benefiting the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 elections.
Despite renewed calls for reconciliation, the firm rejection by the Abure faction suggests the Labour Party’s leadership dispute remains unresolved, with further legal and political battles expected.
