The leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as the National Working Committee (NWC) announced the suspension of prominent party members, including Abia State Governor Alex Otti, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, and Senator Ireti Kingibe. The party also suspended 11 other officials and members, accusing them of anti-party activities and gross indiscipline.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said the decision was taken during an emergency NWC meeting presided over by National Chairman Julius Abure. According to Ifoh, the suspended individuals had “undermined the integrity of the party by engaging in actions aimed at destabilizing its structures and sowing discord among members.”
Governor Otti’s suspension, in particular, has stirred political tension, as he is one of the party’s most high-profile elected officials.
The LP leadership accused him of hosting an unauthorized stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia, where a 29-member caretaker committee led by former Finance Minister Nenadi Usman was inaugurated to replace the current NWC.
That meeting, which had in attendance key party figures like Peter Obi, has been dismissed by the NWC as unconstitutional and a “political coup.”
Senators Nwokocha and Kingibe were similarly accused of aligning with the “illegal caretaker committee” and working against the interests of the party. The LP’s NWC described their actions as “treacherous,” claiming they had failed to use their elected platforms to strengthen the party’s base, especially in their respective senatorial districts.
Reacting swiftly, the suspended members have rejected the sanctions, describing them as “a desperate move by an embattled leadership to cling to power.” A spokesperson for the Umuahia group insisted that Julius Abure’s leadership was “illegitimate,” citing an earlier court judgment from 2018 that called for an inclusive national convention—a directive the Abure-led executive allegedly ignored.
The crisis within the Labour Party appears far from over, with many observers warning that the deepening rift could damage the party’s electoral chances ahead of the next general elections. Political analysts say the party must urgently find a middle ground, or risk imploding under the weight of internal strife.
