LP: Obi’s 2027 Bid Impossible Under Party Rules — Usman

The interim national chairman of the Labour Party, Nenadi Usman, has stated that the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would not be eligible to contest the 2027 election under its platform due to legal restrictions tied to membership registration timelines.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV on Wednesday, Usman explained that the party’s membership register would be sealed 21 days before its primaries and forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), leaving no room for late entrants.

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.”

Usman acknowledged Obi’s significant role in boosting the party’s fortunes during the 2023 elections, noting that he had personally influenced her move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour 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 added that her departure from the PDP was driven by dissatisfaction with the party’s refusal 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.

The Labour Party has been grappling with a prolonged leadership crisis following its strong performance in 2023. The dispute, centered on rival claims to the chairmanship, placed Usman’s caretaker committee in opposition to the faction led by former national chairman Julius Abure, which accused her group of unlawfully taking control.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Abure’s tenure had lapsed. A subsequent ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja removed him from office and instructed INEC to recognize only Usman’s leadership pending a national convention.

Following the judgment, Usman’s faction assumed control of the party’s national secretariat in Utako, Abuja, amid allegations from her camp that loyalists of Abure had engaged in vandalism and removed key documents.

More recently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld Usman’s position as interim chairman, dismissing Abure’s challenge and directing INEC to engage solely with her leadership. However, Abure has signaled his intention to approach the Supreme Court, meaning the legal tussle remains unresolved.

The internal crisis has taken a toll on the party, resulting in widespread defections, a diminished presence in the National Assembly, and weakened grassroots structures.

Obi, citing the ongoing instability, eventually distanced himself from the party. Meanwhile, Usman’s leadership has initiated a membership revalidation process and has zoned the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region.