The interim national chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, has stated that the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, may not be eligible to contest under its platform in the 2027 general election.
She attributed this to strict provisions in the Electoral Act governing membership registration and party primaries.
Speaking during an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, Usman explained that the party’s membership register would be officially closed 21 days before its primaries and subsequently submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), making late entries impossible.
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.”
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Usman, however, acknowledged Obi’s significant role in strengthening the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 elections. She revealed that her own move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party was influenced by the former Anambra State governor.
“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 departure from the PDP was driven by concerns over the party’s zoning arrangement for the presidency.
“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.
The Labour Party has continued to grapple with internal leadership disputes following its strong performance in the 2023 elections.
The crisis escalated into competing claims over the party’s national leadership, with Usman’s caretaker committee locked in a dispute with the faction led by former national chairman Julius Abure, who insisted his leadership remained valid.
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The Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that Abure’s tenure had expired, a decision later reinforced by a Federal High Court in Abuja, which directed INEC to recognise Usman’s committee as the authentic leadership pending a national convention.
Following the ruling, Usman’s faction assumed control of the party secretariat in Abuja amid allegations of vandalism and document removal levelled against supporters of the Abure camp.
More recently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the lower court’s decision, affirming Usman as interim chairman and instructing INEC to relate only with her leadership. Abure has since indicated plans to challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court.
The prolonged crisis has weakened the party’s structure, leading to defections, reduced representation in the National Assembly, and declining grassroots cohesion.
Obi has previously linked his exit from the party to the ongoing internal turmoil. Meanwhile, Usman’s leadership has commenced membership revalidation and formally zoned the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region.
