The interim national chairman of the Labour Party , Sen. Nenadi Usman, says the party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi would be legally barred from contesting the 2027 election on its platform unless he meets strict membership registration requirements under the Electoral Act.
Usman made the statement in an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, saying the party’s membership register would be closed 21 days before its primaries and submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Well, it will be too late actually for him to come back,” she said. “Once we close the register 21 days before primaries, submit the e-register to INEC, you can’t come from behind the door for us to register you and for you to contest the elections. That would be impossible, legally impossible anyway.”
Usman acknowledged Obi’s role in the party’s strong 2023 electoral performance, saying he had influenced her and others to join the Labour Party from the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the general election.
“Even me, he convinced me to come with him to Labour Party,” she said. “Many people that are in Labour Party today were convinced by him.”
She said her defection was also influenced by concerns over zoning, arguing that the PDP should have zoned its presidential ticket to the south in 2023.
The Labour Party has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis since its 2023 election surge, with competing claims to control of the party structure. The dispute has centered on Usman’s caretaker leadership and the camp of former national chairman Julius Abure.
In April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Abure’s tenure had expired, and a Federal High Court in Abuja subsequently ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognize Usman’s committee as the legitimate leadership pending a national convention.
The Court of Appeal later dismissed Abure’s challenge, affirming Usman’s position as interim chairman, though Abure has indicated plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The internal crisis has contributed to defections and a weakened party structure ahead of the 2027 elections. Usman’s faction has since begun membership revalidation and zoned the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the south.
