The leadership crisis in the Labour Party (LP) has turned hydra-headed with the birth of a third camp out of the existing two factions likely, according to latest happenings in the Interim National Working Committee (INWC) led by Senator Nenadi Usman.

The development came as Usman’s INWC submitted lists of Interim State Working Committee for 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja on Friday.

Usman submitted the lists just two days after the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party purportedly dissolved the INWC for failing to conduct ward, local government and state congresses of the party, leading to a national convention.

The dissolution letter, jointly signed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Comrade S.O.Z. Ejiofor, and Secretary, Comrade Salisu Mohammed, was addressed to Usman and the Secretary of the INWC, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, informing them of the expiration and dissolution of the INWC by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party and other stakeholders.

It claimed that the offence of the INWC was failure to conduct ward, local government and state congresses of the LP, having been twice given the opportunity to do so since September 4, 2024. It noted that the second chance was given to the INWC on July 18, 2025, but again it failed to carry out the assignment.

“Subsequent to the above, you are hereby requested to halt every activity in the name of the Labour Party and hand over all documents of the party in your possession to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees (BoT)”, the letter read in part.

However, not long after, another letter signed by the same Ejiofor and Mohammed disowned the purported dissolution of the INWC.

“We write to disclaim and to dissociate ourselves from the issuance of the above letter, which was purportedly issued by ourselves conveying the expiration of the Labour Party Interim National Working Committee (INWC)”, the disclaimer stated.

It added that the purported dissolution was the work of “mischief makers”, assuring Senators Usman and Nwokocha of the confidence of the BoT and other stakeholders in them to continue to “steer the party in the right direction.”

Findings indicated that the conflicting letters were a sign of a brewing intra-faction fight likely to birth a third LP party camp to rival the two already led by Usman and the National Working Committee (NWC), chaired by Barrister Julius Abure.

Officials have refrained from speaking on the seeming split in the Usman camp, outside of the two conflicting letters.

However, one official, declining to be quoted, insisted that the Usman INWC remained dissolved, while promising a live news conference to be assessed in the days ahead by the BoT to confirm the development.

However, the INWC, in a statement on Friday night, said it submitted the lists of the 32 state interim committees to INEC in line with the party’s constitution and the resolutions of the statutory National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on 18th July 2025 in Abuja.

It added that the lists for Ondo, Ekiti, Niger, and Kwara states were being finalised and would be forwarded to INEC in a subsequent correspondence to round them up to 36 states.

In a statement by the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the camp, Ife Salako, the party also informed INEC of the constitution of a national steering committee for membership revalidation/new registration as part of plans to reposition it ahead of the 2027 polls.

It stated, “This committee will also oversee the national launch of the Labour Party’s Nationwide Membership Drive, codenamed Labour Party Connect 10 Million Nigerians; Connecting 10 Million Patriots for a New Nigeria.

“The Membership Revalidation/New Registration exercise is chaired by His Excellency, Engr. Ikechukwu Emetu, Deputy Governor of Abia State, with Comrade Ladi Iliya and Dr. Kingsley Okundaye serving as Deputy Chairmen with Kamal Yusuf Ahmed as Secretary.

“The Labour Party enjoins its members and teeming supporters nationwide to take full advantage of the revalidation exercise scheduled to commence on December 17, 2025 and end on January 20, 2026, in order to revalidate their membership of the party. The party also calls on Nigerians who continue to bear the brunt of the current APC government’s misrule to register with the Labour Party and be part of the movement for a New Nigeria.

“The Party also urges the newly constituted Interim State Working Committees to cooperate fully with the National Steering Committee for Membership Revalidation/New Registration to ensure a seamless exercise and to help the party surpass its projected target of registering 10 million members within the stipulated time frame.

“The Labour Party expresses profound appreciation to the Nigerian people, especially the media, for their steadfast support during recent challenging times. We urge all Nigerians to remain vigilant, as the forces that orchestrated the past crises – now resolved by the apex court – are still lurking around.”

Coincidentally, while the Usman’s INWC submitted lists of state committees to INEC, the Abure-led NWC is busy conducting ward, local government and state congresses.

According the National Publicity Secretary of the Abure-led NWC, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, the ward congresses were held December 2, while the local government congresses were held Thursday December 4 across the states except in Abia state due to a court order.

The faction is expected to hold its state congresses on December.

“At its NEC meeting held on Friday, November 28 and attended by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the party resolved to reposition the party by ensuring that leaders of the party across board emerge democratically and in line with the electoral law and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Labour Party is therefore calling on Nigerians to embrace the party ahead of the 2027 general election. We are repositioning to improve on our capacity to drive the leadership of this great nation soonest”, the camp said.

At the moment, none of the camps is officially recognised by INEC on its portal by uploading its officials in its records, apart from monitoring happenings in the camps when invited. (Nigerian Tribune)

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