Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media Matters to Senator Nenadi Usman, has said the leadership crisis in the Labour Party has been conclusively resolved by the Federal High Court, following a clear directive recognising Senator Usman as the legitimate head of the party’s caretaker leadership and mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give effect to the ruling
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Asogwa said the court’s ruling had not only affirmed Senator Usman’s authority but had also empowered the party to move forward with reconciliation and internal reforms, while dismissing claims by the Julius Abure faction that the judgement contradicted the Supreme Court.
“The authority has already been asserted and the court has given us the instruments to us asserting that authority,” Asogwa said. “And I want to seize this opportunity to join INEC to do what is necessary for us to assert that authority, because INEC remains a regulatory authority that is very, very pivotal to anyone asserting that authority.”
He explained that the court had specifically ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Senator Usman’s leadership, stressing that implementation now rested with the electoral body.
“And that comes with the recognition of INEC, as directed by the court today. Implementation comes from them. And when that comes, then the assertion of the authority will be underway,” he said.
Asogwa confirmed that INEC was yet to formally acknowledge the judgement, noting that the commission had not been served the enrolled order.
“Well, I don’t expect it. Even though INEC was in court, the order hasn’t been served on them. And I hope that by tomorrow they should be getting that communication from us,” he said. “We haven’t gotten any communication from them regarding the judgement.”
On concerns that legal victory alone may not heal the party’s deep internal rifts, Asogwa said Senator Usman had already prioritised reconciliation, announcing the immediate constitution of a National Reconciliation Committee.
“She understands that a Labour Party that is split, a Labour Party that is not cohesive, a Labour Party that lacks cohesion can’t win the 2027 election,” he said. “The moment this judgement was given, the first thing she did was to appeal to the warring parties to sue for peace.”
He added: “She said today that this is a no-victor, no-vanquished situation, and that nobody should celebrate this judgement as ‘we versus them’, that Labour Party remains one Labour Party, and that we need this cohesion in order to be able to stand together, to stand tall as an opposition party.”
Asogwa warned that ignoring the need for unity would be politically costly.
“You can have victory at the courts, but you will lose the masses. And we need everybody, all hands to be on deck for us to be able to do the work of the opposition party that we are,” he said.
Addressing the continued resistance from the Julius Abure faction, which has vowed to appeal the judgement, Asogwa urged them to abandon confrontation and embrace peace.
“My message to them is to throw in the towel and embrace peace. The olive branch has been extended to them,” he said.
He rejected claims that the Federal High Court had overruled the Supreme Court, insisting that the judgement was firmly rooted in the apex court’s position.
“What transpired today was that the judge pointedly said that he agrees with the Supreme Court judgement that it is only the political party that can decide who their leadership is,” Asogwa said.
He traced the crisis to the expiration of Abure’s tenure, recalling an incident where Abure was prevented from participating in INEC’s consultative forum.
“At some point when Julius Abure’s tenure expired, he continued to parade himself as the national chairman of the Labour Party,” he said. “On one occasion, he tried to attend the INEC quarterly consultative forum… and he was thrown out. Now, it dawned on us that we had a leadership vacuum.”
According to Asogwa, the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), led by Abia State Governor Alex Otti as a statutory member, intervened to fill that vacuum.
“That NEC meeting produced the caretaker committee chairman as an intervention, as a child of necessity, if I should use the words of the court today,” he said. “That was the national caretaker committee that produced Senator Nenadi Usman.”
He explained that while the Supreme Court had ruled that Abure’s tenure had expired, it did not issue a consequential order, which led to conflicting interpretations.
“Today, the Federal High Court gave a consequential order, very direct, very unambiguous, directing INEC to deal with her as the sole authority, as the sole leadership of the Labour Party,” he said.
Despite the ruling, Asogwa said the party was deliberately avoiding triumphalism.
“As far as we are concerned, the judgement has been given. But we are celebrating it in a measured tone. We are not seeing it as a victory,” he said.
On whether compromise was still possible, Asogwa maintained that leadership was no longer negotiable, though dialogue could continue on other issues.
“If the court has said that you are the leader, of course you are the leader,” he said. “On the issue of leadership, there is a direct pronouncement on who the leader is. It’s even a contempt of court if anybody should go against what the court has pronounced.”
He also cautioned the media against legitimising self-assigned titles.
“If people sit down and allocate appellations to themselves, the media shouldn’t validate that,” he said. “If I sit in your studio to say I am the president of Nigeria, you shouldn’t call me the factional president of Nigeria.”
On discipline within the party, Asogwa acknowledged that sanctions remained an option but said reconciliation was the immediate focus.
“Any law that doesn’t come with sanction is as good as a tissue paper,” he said. “But as far as we are concerned, what we are putting forward is reconciliation.”
Responding to speculation that INEC might delay recognition pending an appeal, Asogwa dismissed the possibility.
“INEC will not delay because INEC is a responsible institution,” he said. “They will not join Julius Abure in his madness. Appeal on its own does not serve as an automatic stay of execution.”
Turning to party reforms, Asogwa said the caretaker leadership had already embarked on a nationwide membership drive.
“We are embarking on a 10 million drive to recruit 10 million members,” he said. “Our target is 10 million before the end of 2026.”
He added that congresses and a national convention would soon be held to elect substantive leadership.
Asked whether the crisis had damaged the Labour Party’s credibility, Asogwa conceded some reputational harm but insisted the party remained aligned with the people.
“It did some damage to our brand,” he said. “But the silver lining is that Nigerians are able to see clearly who is with the people and who is not with the people.”
Using a metaphor, he argued that the party had been undermined by external interference.
“When a thief invades someone’s house, I think it will be double jeopardy for you to blame the owner of the house,” he said. “There was an invasion in Labour Party… and I am happy that the rebuilding process has just begun.”
On the party’s readiness for the 2027 elections, Asogwa admitted that ground had been lost but expressed confidence in recovery.
“We really have lost some grounds, but… we are going to regain some of those lost grounds,” he said. “The leadership today is in the hands of credible Nigerians.”
Finally, addressing questions about lingering divisions, Asogwa drew a distinction between legal unity and political grievances.
“There is a marked difference between division in a political party and grievances being expressed by people,” he said. “As it stands today, there is no division in Labour Party.”
He concluded: “There are grievances in every political party. We have extended the olive branch, and we are working seriously to ensure that we reach out to everyone.”
Boluwatife Enome
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