Labour Party Crisis: Lamidi Apapa Insists He Is Constitutionally Backed to Lead Party

Factional Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, has asserted that he remains the most constitutionally qualified individual to lead the party amid the ongoing leadership crisis.

Speaking on News Night, a programme on ARISE TV on Thursday, Apapa cited Article 14 of the party’s constitution to justify his claim, stating that the apex court’s ruling and the release of its certified true copy affirm his position.

Apapa argued that the Supreme Court’s judgment did not affirm Julius Abure as the party’s chairman, and based on party rules, he—being the most senior deputy national chairman—automatically assumes leadership in Abure’s absence.

“If the national chairman of the party, for whatever reasons at all, is unable to perform his role, the deputy chairman of the party takes over,” he said. “It’s automatic. I don’t have to derive authority from anybody because the constitution has allowed me to do that.”

He further emphasized that he is the most senior among the party’s deputy national chairmen, making him the rightful successor in accordance with LP’s internal guidelines.

“Unfortunately, among all the deputy national chairmen, I happen to be the oldest,” he added.

InfoStride News reports that the LP has been engulfed in a prolonged leadership crisis, with Julius Abure and his allies on one side, and a caretaker committee led by Nenadi Usman on the other.

The Usman-led faction reportedly has the backing of former presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to affirm Abure as national chairman, a decision that has since sparked multiple interpretations, with rival factions claiming legitimacy.