Obi May Be Barred From 2027 Labour Party Ticket, Says LP Interim Chairma

The Labour Party’s interim national chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, has stated that the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, may be legally unable to contest the 2027 general election on its platform due to strict membership registration timelines under the Electoral Act.

Usman made the remark during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, explaining that the party’s membership register would be closed 21 days before its primaries and subsequently submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to her, once the register is closed, no new member—including high-profile figures—can be added for the purpose of contesting primaries.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Obi’s Role in Labour Party’s Rise

Usman, however, acknowledged Peter Obi’s significant influence in the party’s strong performance during the 2023 general election, noting that his entry into the Labour Party reshaped its national visibility.

She also revealed that she personally moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party after being persuaded by Obi ahead of the elections.

“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.

Exit from PDP and Zoning Controversy

Explaining her political decision at the time, Usman said her departure from the PDP was influenced by concerns over the party’s handling of presidential zoning.

She argued that the PDP ought to have zoned its presidential ticket to the South, but instead opened the contest, leading to the emergence of a northern candidate.

“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,” she added.

Ongoing Labour Party Crisis

The Labour Party has continued to face a prolonged leadership crisis following its strong showing in the 2023 elections, which brought it into national prominence.

The dispute centres on competing claims to leadership between Usman’s caretaker committee and the faction led by former national chairman Julius Abure. Abure’s camp has consistently rejected the caretaker leadership, alleging an unlawful takeover of the party structure.

In a major legal development, the Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that Abure’s tenure had expired. A subsequent Federal High Court judgment in Abuja also removed him and directed INEC to recognise Usman’s committee as the legitimate leadership pending a national convention.

Following the ruling, Usman’s faction assumed control of the party secretariat in Utako, Abuja, amid allegations of vandalism and missing documents, which were attributed to supporters of the Abure camp.

More recently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed Abure’s challenge and unanimously affirmed Usman as interim chairman, instructing INEC to relate only with her leadership.

Despite these rulings, Abure has indicated plans to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court, keeping the party’s internal crisis legally and politically unresolved.