The Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party, Nenadi Usman, has said it is “legally impossible” for the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to return and secure its ticket for the 2027 general election
Usman stated this on Thursday, during an interview on Arise Television, explaining that the party had already complied with electoral regulations by closing its membership register ahead of its primaries.
According to her, once the register is closed and submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, no new aspirant can be admitted into the process.
“At some point, we close the register. Once we close it 21 days before the primaries and submit the e-register to INEC, you can’t come from behind the door for us to register you and for you to contest. That would be legally impossible,” she said.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, contested the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform but later defected to the African Democratic Congress in December 2025, where he is seen as a leading aspirant for its presidential ticket.
Despite ruling out his return, Usman acknowledged Obi’s impact on the party’s performance in the last general election, noting that his candidacy significantly elevated the party’s national profile.
“Peter Obi really took the party to great heights in 2023. He convinced me to come with him to the Labour Party. And not just me, many people joined because we believed in equity and fair play,” she said.
She linked the surge in the party’s membership at the time to discontent with zoning arrangements within the Peoples Democratic Party.
On the party’s lingering leadership crisis, Usman accused some members of attempting to destabilise the Labour Party through multiple court cases, describing the trend as an abuse of judicial process.
Her comments followed a ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which dismissed an appeal filed by factional chairman Julius Abure and upheld earlier decisions recognising her leadership.
She alleged that some aggrieved members had filed multiple suits in different courts seeking similar reliefs, a move she described as “forum shopping.”
“It was a case to destabilise the party. You see one person filing nothing less than eight cases in eight different courts across eight different states, all seeking one relief. That is an abuse of court process,” she said.
Usman also disclosed that INEC recently carried out a verification exercise at the party’s national secretariat, with participation from stakeholders across various factions.
She added that the party would soon commence nationwide congresses ahead of a national convention scheduled to hold in Umuahia, Abia State, as part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved members and reposition the party.
“We’ve extended an olive branch. We just want to build the party,” she said.
She stressed that the Labour Party must not be built around any individual, warning against attempts to personalise its leadership.
“We don’t want anybody to perpetuate themselves as chairman for life. Leadership in a political party has a tenure — you come, you go, but the party should remain,” she added.
Usman expressed optimism that the planned convention would unify the party and strengthen its chances ahead of the 2027 general election.
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