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By our reporter
The crisis within the Labour Party has escalated as the faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman has called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute members of a rival group over a planned protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The protest, reportedly scheduled for August 6, was organized by the Julius Abure-led faction in response to INEC’s recent rejection of its submitted list of candidates for the upcoming by-elections on August 16.
In a statement released by Ken Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Usman-led faction, the group strongly dissociated itself from the protest, labeling its organisers as political impersonators. The statement emphasized that the protest was not authorised by the party’s legitimate leadership and urged the public to disregard it.
The faction claimed that the rejected list was submitted by individuals with no legal standing in the party, citing a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, which it said confirmed the expiration of Abure’s tenure as party chairman since June 8, 2023.
Senator Usman urged INEC to stand firm and recognize only the candidates submitted by her leadership, and called on the Commission to update its portal to reflect the party’s lawful leadership structure. She also appealed to security agencies to take swift action against those promoting or participating in the protest.
