Julius Abure, the factional national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), has warned Senator Seriake Dickson, national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), to exercise caution in his political alliance with Peter Obi and his supporters.
Obi, who secured the NDC presidential ticket on 30 May at the party’s national convention in Abuja, has been endorsed by Dickson’s party ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a personally signed statement on Monday, Abure commended Dickson for what he described as a refusal to concede all elective positions within the NDC to Obi’s camp, suggesting that the NDC leader had learned valuable lessons from the recent crisis that engulfed the Labour Party.
‘History repeats itself’
Abure alleged that Obi, Abia State Governor Alex Otti, and many of their supporters who won elections on the LP platform in 2023 have since turned against the party’s leadership.
“They say history usually repeats itself. Senator Dickson and company have seen the trajectory and learnt from what happened to us – that after they have won and are now in government, they turn round and struggle with the leadership of the party,” the statement read.
“I want to say that Obi and his followers are ingrates who will never remember the sacrifices you made for them. It is even dangerous for the leadership of the NDC to wholly hand over elective positions to Obi and his followers.
“We did it in 2022/23. Immediately they saw that Obi was interested in the leadership of the party, all those elected under the platform simply followed Obi, forgetting all the sacrifices and suffering we made for them.”
INEC and the caretaker committee
Abure claimed that the crisis in the LP deepened when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) obeyed a court ruling that declared the party’s leadership tenure had lapsed, leading to the formation of the Nenadi Usman-led interim national committee.
“They fell into the trap of INEC when the commission deceived them to say that the tenure of the executive had expired. We had expected them to reject that position,” he said.
He argued that, in light of the LP experience, Dickson would be wise to retain control within the NDC by ensuring his own supporters occupy key positions.
“He needs to bring his own people so that when the chips are down, he will also have people who will speak and defend him,” Abure added.
‘They want to occupy every space’
Abure further alleged that Obi’s supporters had joined the NDC with the aim of dominating its structure, mirroring their approach in the Labour Party.
“They trooped into the NDC with Obi, hoping to occupy every space like they did in the Labour Party. No leader of any political party, seeing what Obi did to the Labour Party along with his followers, will make that mistake again,” he said.
He noted that his comments were prompted by questions about how the LP managed Obi and his supporters during the 2022/2023 election cycle. According to Abure, the party made significant sacrifices to accommodate Obi’s interests, including granting many tickets to his supporters free of charge.
“We ensured that Obi’s interests were adequately taken care of. We only looked at his body language, and we obliged most of his supporters’ tickets.
“Most of the tickets were free, believing we were investing in those persons in line with the philosophy of the party, expecting that when they win, they will bring necessary support to help the growth of the party. But ironically, when they came into power, they went after the leadership of the party.”
Background: The LP leadership crisis
Abure also accused Obi and Otti of attempting to take over the party’s leadership following disputes over the tenure of its executives, adding that elected officials who emerged on the LP platform failed to support the party financially.
The Labour Party has been embroiled in a protracted leadership battle. INEC officially recognised Nenadi Usman as chairperson of the party’s national caretaker committee in January 2026, following a federal high court ruling.
On 21 April 2026, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld that ruling and dismissed Abure’s appeal seeking to overturn his removal as national chairman.
