EXCLUSIVE: Nenadi Usman Holds Labour Party Convention In Defiance Of Federal High Court Order, Emerges National Chairman In Umuahia

Former Labour Party Caretaker Committee Chairperson, Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, on Tuesday proceeded with the party’s Elective National Convention in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, in brazen defiance of a pending court suit seeking to stop the exercise and was subsequently elected the substantive National Chairman of the party through a consensus arrangement.

National Concord can exclusively reveal that just 24 hours before the convention held, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano had been approached by two senior party members Mohammed Abdullahi Raji, Chairman of Labour Party Kano State, and Abdulrahim Imam Chindo, Chairman of Labour Party Sokoto State who filed an urgent ex-parte motion seeking an injunction to halt the gathering.

The suit, filed before the Kano Judicial Division of the Federal High Court and assigned Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/211/2026, was heard on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 the very day the convention was scheduled before the Honourable Justice S. M. Shuaibu. The applicants, suing on behalf of themselves and all chairmen and secretaries of the party’s executive councils nationwide, had prayed the court for an interim injunction restraining Usman, Senator Darlington Nwokocha (National Secretary of the Caretaker Committee), the Labour Party, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from “convening, organizing and/or holding the purported National Convention scheduled to take place on the 28th day of April, 2026.”

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Counsel for the applicants, Mustapha Saleh Esq., appearing alongside Faisal Musa Baba, moved the application in terms of the Motion Paper, urging the court to also order all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the determination of an interlocutory application.

Justice Shuaibu, however, stopped short of granting the injunction outright. Instead, the court ordered the service of the Motion on the respondents and adjourned the matter to 4th May, 2026 for the hearing of the Motion on Notice. The order, certified and issued at Kano under the hand of Registrar Hasiya Abubakar Bukar, was dated 23rd April 2026 indicating the matter had been in motion before the convention date.

Despite the suit hanging over her head and the adjournment set for next week, Usman proceeded undeterred. The convention, themed “Labor Party Rising: United for Victory,” held on Tuesday in Umuahia as scheduled and the former Senator emerged as the party’s substantive National Chairman through a consensus arrangement, alongside other members of a new National Working Committee (NWC).

The decision to proceed despite the pending legal action is bound to deepen the already fractious divisions within the Labour Party, a party that became a household name following the 2023 presidential election but has since been battered by internal crises, court battles, and leadership disputes.

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The applicants in the Kano suit represent a faction of party executives who argue that the convention was irregular a position that could form the basis of fresh post-convention litigation aimed at nullifying the outcomes of Tuesday’s proceedings.

The suit names four respondents: Sen. Nenadi Ester Usman (National Chairperson, Caretaker Committee, Labour Party), Sen. Darlington Nwokocha (National Secretary, Caretaker Committee, Labour Party), the Labour Party itself, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

With the case adjourned to May 4, legal fireworks are expected in the coming days as aggrieved factions are likely to approach the court seeking to vacate the results of the convention.

New NWC Emerges By Consensus

At the convention itself, Usman and her colleagues on the new National Working Committee were returned unopposed through a consensus arrangement, a method critics have described as exclusionary but which supporters say reflects the party’s unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Also elected through the same process was Hon. Acho Obioma, former House of Representatives Member for the Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency and Special Adviser to Abia State Governor Alex Otti on Political Affairs. Obioma now takes the position of National Secretary, replacing Senator Darlington Nwokocha who had previously served as Secretary of the Caretaker Committee.

The convention was supervised by the Chairman of the National Congress and Convention Committee, Ginger Onwusibe, and its Secretary, Salisu Muhammad.

Otti Hails Convention, Praises Usman’s Integrity

Abia State Governor Alex Otti, who hosted the convention and attended in his capacity as a key LP figure, lavished praise on the newly elected leadership and those who organised the exercise.

Otti commended Onwusibe and Muhammad for conducting what he described as a credible national convention for the party. He described Usman as “a woman of integrity,” congratulating her and other newly elected NWC members on their election and urging them to brace up for the enormous tasks ahead as the party prepares for the 2027 election cycle.

The governor’s endorsement of Usman is significant. As one of the Labour Party’s most prominent elected officeholders, Otti’s stamp of approval effectively positions the Umuahia convention as the legitimate leadership structure of the party notwithstanding the Kano lawsuit.

Usman Vows Not To Betray Party’s Trust

In her acceptance speech, the newly elected National Chairman thanked delegates for the confidence they reposed in her to lead the party at what she described as a defining moment.

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Usman, who served as Minister of Finance under President Goodluck Jonathan and was previously a Senator representing Kaduna South, pledged she would not betray the trust placed in her. She also specifically appreciated Governor Otti for believing in her ability to take on a role that, she acknowledged, is too often regarded in Nigeria as an exclusive preserve of men.

“I will not betray the trust you have reposed in me,” she told delegates. “I appreciate the Governor for trusting a woman to do this job.”

Background: A Party At War With Itself

The Labour Party has been embroiled in bitter internal conflicts since its dramatic rise to national prominence in 2023, when its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, polled millions of votes in a hotly contested election. The aftermath saw a power struggle between Obi’s loyalists, the party’s old guard, and various regional power blocs that has never been fully resolved.

The emergence of a caretaker committee and now an elective convention held under legal challenge is the latest chapter in that unresolved story. The Labour Party’s leadership crisis has already led to multiple court injunctions, conflicting directives, and public mudslinging that has dimmed its image among Nigerians who once saw it as an alternative to the two dominant parties.

With the Kano Federal High Court scheduled to hear the substantive motion on May 4, and the new NWC having already been inaugurated, the battle for the soul of the Labour Party is far from over.