Peter Obi, Abure in Fresh Power Struggle Over LP Leadership, Call Separate NEC Meetings
The power struggle for the control of the Labour Party (LP) escalated on Monday as Julius Abure, who was sacked as the party’s National Chairman last Friday, and its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, scheduled separate National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings—further deepening the division within the party’s top hierarchy.
While Abure’s camp fixed its NEC meeting at the LP national headquarters in Abuja, Obi and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, summoned a parallel session at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, drawing a line between factions vying for the party’s future direction following last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment affirming Abure’s chairmanship.
Abure’s invitation, signed by LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, simply announced, “The National Executive Committee meeting of the Labour Party held on Monday, April 7, 2025, at the National Party Secretariat.”
Barely an hour later, Obi’s spokesman, Ibrahim Umar, issued a counter-invite, noting that Obi and Otti had convened a broader NEC meeting and stakeholder engagement for Wednesday, April 9.
“The NEC meeting shall be followed concurrently by an interactive Town Hall Engagement with major stakeholders and other organs of the party,” the statement said.
Expected attendees include Obi’s 2023 running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, serving and former lawmakers, and LP candidates from the last general elections.
Political observers believe both camps are scrambling to consolidate influence ahead of the party’s internal restructuring, amid fears that the internal rift could weaken LP’s growing political relevance heading into 2027.
