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Appeal Court affirms Abure as Labour Party’s National Chairman

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The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, affirmed Mr. Julius Abure as the authentic National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, upheld the October 8, judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, today grant the LP under Abure’s leadership, all the rights and privileges accorded a political party duly registered in the country.

According to the appellate court, it found no reason to dislodge the judgement that was delivered in Abure’s favour by Justice Emeka Nwite.

It will be recalled that following a leadership crisis that rocked the LP, the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party resolved to remove Abure as the National Chairman.

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To fill the leadership vacuum, the party constituted a 29-member caretaker committee, with former finance minister, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, as Chairman and Hon. Darlington Nwokocha as Secretary.

The decision was the outcome of an expanded stakeholders’ meeting of the party that was hosted in Umuahia by governor Alex Otti of Abia State.

The meeting where Abure was sacked from office was chaired by his former ally and candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi.

Dissatisfied with the decision, Abure approached the high court to validate his position as the National Chairman of the party.

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In an affidavit he personally deposed to in support of the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, Abure told the court that following the death of the National Chairman of the LP, he was lawfully elected as the Acting National Chairman of the party at a National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the party that held in Benin City, Edo State, on March 29, 2021.

He told the court that on April 18, 2023, at the NEC meeting of the party held in Asaba, Delta State and duly monitored by INEC, it was resolved that tenures of State Chairmen whose tenures had expired, be renewed.

He said it was at the same meeting that some members that were engaged in anti-party activities were expelled and replacements for vacant positions created as a result of the expulsion, done.

Abure averred that in line with a consensus that was reached at the meeting, the party subsequently held its National Convention on March 27, 2024, at Nnewi, Anambra State, where we was lawfully elected to the office of National Chairman of the LP.

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He said the party under his leadership produced candidates for governorship elections in both Edo and Ondo states.

According to the plaintiff, on June 28, 2024, INEC, issued to him and 18 other National Chairmen of political parties, a Notice for Inspection of Sensitive Election Materials for the Ondo and Edo state governorship polls.

However, he decried that a later notice that INEC gave for political parties to nominate two persons from their IT Unit to undertake a training on how to upload data unto INEC’s portal for the purpose of the impending Ondo state gubernatorial election, was not served on him.

Abure told the court that he became aware of the existence of the said notice of the training by INEC, on August 21, 2024, due to the fact that he is a member of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee, IPAC.

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Therefore, he prayed the court to intervene by compelling INEC to acord him recognition as the National Chairman of the LP.

While granting the request, Justice Nwite held that he found merit in the case of the plaintiff.

The court equally ordered INEC to perform its lawful duty by conducting a refresher training for the upload of LP’s agents into the INEC portal and to issue the plaintiff (Abure) the Access Code required to access INEC’s portal for the Ondo Governorship Election that held on November 16, 2024.

“I am of the view that and so hold that on the basis of these cogent verifiable documents, the defendants attempt to impeach the validity of the leadership of the plaintiff fails.

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“The plaintiff has proved his case.

“I hereby make an order compelling the defendant to accord the plaintiff’s political party under the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure all the rights and privileges accorded a political party duly registered in Nigeria,” Justice Nwite held.

Politics

Rare political resignation: Serving LG chairman dumps ruling APC in Sokoto

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In a rare political development that has sent shockwaves through Sokoto State, the Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, Isa Kalanjeni, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and simultaneously stepped down from his elected position as council chairman.

The twin resignations were contained in two separate letters made available to journalists in Sokoto on Tuesday.

In a letter dated May 5, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward Chairman of Kalanjeni Ward in Tangaza Local Government, Kalanjeni announced his immediate departure from the ruling party.

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I wish to formally inform you of my decision to resign from the APC with immediate effect. This decision is borne out of purely personal reasons. I appreciate the opportunity given to me to be part of the party.”

Resignation from Office

In a separate letter dated July 7, 2026, addressed to the Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Kalanjeni formally resigned as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area with immediate effect.

Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from my position as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, effective immediately from today.”

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Reasons Cited

The embattled chairman explained that the “difficult decision” followed extensive consultations with family, political associates, and community stakeholders.

He also cited administrative constraints, stating:

“Due to recent unavoidable administrative challenges, I find that I am no longer able to execute the responsibilities of this office to the high standard expected of me.”

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Despite the abrupt exit, Kalanjeni expressed appreciation to the people of the council:

“I am incredibly grateful to the electorate, the council’s legislative arm, and the entire staff for the privilege and opportunity to serve our people. I wish the incoming leadership and administration continued success.”

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2027: APC moves to beat INEC deadline, set to upload Tinubu, running mate this week

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is on course to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) July 11 deadline for the submission of its presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.

A senior member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the upload of candidates’ details was at an advanced stage, with the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate expected to be uploaded by the middle of the week.

“We are progressing smoothly with the uploading of the details of our National Assembly candidates,” the source said.

“We hope that on or before next Wednesday, we shall upload the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. We are completely sure of meeting the July 11 deadline for uploading all our candidates on the INEC portal.”

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Checks at the APC’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department at the Muhammadu Buhari House headquarters in Abuja on Sunday indicated that the party’s technical team has continued to interface with the INEC portal without disruption.

Sources in the department said the details of most principal officers of the 10th National Assembly and several serving lawmakers had already been uploaded.

They added that the details of four serving governors — AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State — had also been uploaded to the INEC portal.

The race to meet the deadline followed a review of the party’s primary elections. The APC recently submitted a revised list of candidates to INEC after the NWC removed six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had earlier emerged from the party’s May primaries.

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The changes affected constituencies in Abia, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Niger and Kwara states and followed the recommendations of the party’s Primary Election Appeal Committee.

The revised list was forwarded to INEC in a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members after the conclusion of its primaries.

“The party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of our shadow elections,” Morka said.

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He declined to state when the final list of candidates would be released publicly, saying the party’s immediate focus was to ensure compliance with INEC’s nomination requirements.

“Our absolute immediate priority right now is ensuring that our designated candidates properly complete and return their Form EC9 nomination documents for upload ahead of the strict INEC deadline, rather than focusing on the public release of the list,” he said.

Despite the changes made by the appeal committee, the final list submitted to INEC retained many of the party’s leading figures, including four serving governors who secured the party’s tickets to contest Senate seats in the 2027 general elections.

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Senator Ogoshi Onawo resigns from ADC over incessant legal battles

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Lawmaker representing the Nasarawa South Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo, has officially resigned from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

His resignation was contained in a letter dated July 2, 2026, and addressed to the ADC Ward Chairman in Galadimawa Ward, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The lawmaker attributed his decision to the party’s lingering internal crisis and protracted legal disputes at the national level.

In the letter sighted on Sunday by our correspondent, Onawo said his resignation takes effect from June 15, 2026.

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The lawmaker said the persistent internal wrangling and legal battles within the party made it difficult for him to pursue the developmental mandate entrusted to him by the electorate.

“It is driven by my firm belief that the prevailing circumstances within the current party structure and the endless legal battles it is currently embroiled in no longer provide the cohesion, support, and enabling environment for me to focus squarely on effectively representing my constituents and to fully realise the developmental and progressive mandate they entrusted to me,” he said.

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