The interim National Chairman of the Labour Party, Nenadi Usman, has stated that the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, may not be eligible to run under its platform in the 2027 election due to provisions in the Electoral Act governing membership timelines.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, Usman explained that the party is bound by a rule requiring its membership register to be closed 21 days before its primary elections.
She noted that once the register is finalised and submitted electronically to the Independent National Electoral Commission, new entrants cannot be added for the purpose of contesting.
She said, “Well it will be too late actually for him to come back because if you look at the act now, at some point we close the register.
“Once we close the register 21 days before primaries, submit the register, the e-register to INEC, you can’t come from behind the door for us to register you and for you to contest the elections. That would be impossible, legally impossible anyway.”
Despite this, Usman acknowledged Obi’s significant role in the party’s rise ahead of the 2023 general elections, revealing that she was among those he persuaded to join the Labour Party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party.
“Even me, he convinced me to come with him to Labour Party. Convinced me and not just me, many people that are in Labour Party today were convinced by, let’s join Peter, go to Labour Party because we believed in equity and fair play,” she said.
She further explained that her exit from the PDP was influenced by the party’s decision not to zone its presidential ticket to the southern region.
“We believe that PDP should have zoned the seat to the south. But since they left it open and said there were no zoning and a northerner, they were trying to field a northerner, we felt no, it’s not fair. Though I’m a northerner but I felt it was not fair,” Usman said.
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The Labour Party has faced a prolonged internal leadership dispute following its performance in the 2023 elections.
The crisis centred on rival claims to the national chairmanship between Usman’s caretaker committee and the faction led by former chairman Julius Abure, which accused the caretaker leadership of unlawfully taking over the party.
In April 2025, the Supreme Court declared that Abure’s tenure had lapsed. A Federal High Court in Abuja subsequently removed him from office and directed INEC to recognise Usman’s committee as the party’s legitimate leadership pending a national convention.
Following the ruling, Usman’s group assumed control of the party’s national secretariat in Utako, Abuja, amid allegations from their side that loyalists of Abure engaged in vandalism and carted away documents.
More recently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld Usman’s position as interim chairman, dismissing Abure’s appeal and instructing INEC to deal solely with her faction.
However, Abure has signalled his intention to approach the Supreme Court, meaning the legal battle is yet to be fully resolved.
The internal turmoil has taken a toll on the party, leading to widespread defections, a decline in its representation in the National Assembly, and a weakened grassroots network.
Obi cited the lingering crisis as one of the reasons for his departure from the party. Meanwhile, Usman’s leadership has initiated a membership revalidation exercise and has zoned the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region.