Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has criticised former Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, over the continued sale of governorship nomination forms despite the ongoing leadership dispute within the party.
The controversy followed the circulation of a viral photograph showing Abure presenting Labour Party nomination forms to former National Vice Chairman of the party, Ceekay Igara, alongside other party members.
Reacting to the development, Governor Otti, through his Chief Press Secretary, Ukoha Ukoha, questioned Abure’s authority to continue acting as national chairman after court rulings and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s position on the party’s leadership.
According to Ukoha, both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had recognised Senator Nenadi Usman as the interim leader of the Labour Party pending the party’s convention.
He stated that the party had already moved on from Abure’s leadership and accused the former chairman of acting in defiance of valid court orders.
Otti’s spokesperson also argued that INEC had already aligned with the court-backed leadership structure and could not legally supervise any electoral process organised under Abure’s authority.
He maintained that Abure should explain why he continues issuing nomination forms despite judicial pronouncements against his leadership position.
However, Ceekay Igara defended the move, insisting that the distribution of forms was part of preparations ahead of the final determination of ongoing court cases affecting the party.
According to him, there are pending matters before both the Supreme Court and the Federal High Court, making it necessary for party stakeholders to avoid creating a political vacuum.
Igara argued that if Abure eventually regains control of the party structure after the court rulings, delaying preparations for primaries could negatively affect the Labour Party in several states.
He further clarified that the nomination forms were being issued ahead of primaries that had not yet taken place and that consultations within the party were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, findings showed that the Independent National Electoral Commission currently recognises Senator Nenadi Usman as the acting chairman of the Labour Party.
Efforts to get comments from Julius Abure were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to him were not responded to at the time of filing the report.
