Nenadi Usman-led LP dismisses Abure faction’s threat to expel Obi

The Labour Party (LP) caretaker committee led by Nenadi Usman has dismissed claims that Peter Obi will be expelled from the party for joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition.

On July 3, Obi, the LP presidential candidate in 2023, said his decision to join the coalition was not taken lightly.

The former governor of Anambra noted that joining the coalition aligns with his vision of creating an inclusive political alternative.

However, the Julius Abure-led faction of the LP, in response to the development, issued a 48-hour ultimatum, asking Obi to resign from the party.

Afterward, the LP caretaker committee rejected and described the ultimatum issued by Abure’s group as “mischievous” and lacking both legal and moral weight.

The committee also described those behind the ultimatum as “political jesters” with no authority in the party, adding that Obi’s ADC involvement had the LP’s backing.

On Tuesday, Abayomi Arabambi, an LP chieftain, said the former Anambra governor had committed anti-party activities and no longer has a place in the party.

Arabambi described Obi’s move to the ADC coalition as “unconstitutional,” saying the LP would soon convene a national executive council (NEC) meeting to formally expel him.

He also said the Abure-led leadership remains the only recognised authority in the party.

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Eluma Asogwa, Usman’s senior special adviser on media, said the claim to expel Obi from the party was the handiwork of political impostors acting on behalf of “shadowy interests.”

Asogwa described the individuals behind the alleged plot as “unknown to the party” and accused them of seeking to disrupt ongoing coalition talks led by Obi.

He further dismissed them as “comedians of politics” who are “merely performing for their paymasters,” adding that their drama is the “desperate last kick of a dying horse.”

“The attention of the Labour Party has been drawn to plans by a group of political jesters—unknown to the party but parading themselves as members—to convene a kangaroo meeting with the aim of sowing confusion and mischief in the ongoing coalition efforts involving His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi,” the statement reads.

“These impostors, acting on behalf of shadowy interests, intend to purport an expulsion of Mr. Obi from the Labour Party—a move as laughable as it is illegal.

“We urge Nigerians to disregard the desperate rantings of these meddlesome interlopers whose only mission is to undermine the credibility and towering influence of Mr. Peter Obi in the coalition-building process aimed at rescuing Nigeria.

“The media and the general public are hereby enjoined to ignore these comedians of politics who are merely performing for their paymasters.

“They are well aware that the sun is fast setting on their charade, and their relevance—anchored solely on attacking Peter Obi—will evaporate the moment he completes his signified intention to join the newly birthed platform.

“This latest drama should be rightly seen for what it is: the desperate last kick of a dying horse.

“It is important to recall that the Supreme Court of Nigeria—the highest judicial authority in the land—has long affirmed, in a landmark judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, that the tenure of these political impersonators expired a long time ago.

“On what legal or moral authority, then, do they stand to make any pronouncement on behalf of the Labour Party?”

On May 26, Usman said her leadership of the party had endorsed Obi’s involvement in coalition meetings ahead of the 2027 elections.

She said the party “wholeheartedly welcomes” the Nigerian-driven coalition movement, noting that Obi can still run for the 2027 presidency under the LP if the coalition deal fails to materialise.

The LP has been entangled in a leadership crisis for months, with Abure, Usman, Callistus Okafor, and Lamidi Apapa—each claiming to be the party’s legitimate leader.