Details of the Friday meeting of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-recognised Julius Abure leadership of the Labour Party (LP) has emerged.
Among others, the party has appointed Dr Oluwafemi Abayomi Arabambi, a former spokesman of LP, as the new national vice chairman for the South West region.
The decision was taken at the LP National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Friday, which the INEC team led by the commission’s Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) Department attended.
The meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Utako was also attended by members of LP’s NWC, national officers, state chairmen, secretaries, and stakeholders.
At the event, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, the party’s former vice-presidential candidate, said Mr. Peter Obi remained a member of the party and called for unity.
The NEC endorsed the national officers elected at the party’s national convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, in March 2024.
in a communiqué issued after the meeting, Abure, leaned heavily on the recent Supreme Court judgment on Abegunde Vs. Ondo State House of Assembly & Ors. (2025), which emphasised the non-justiciability of internal party disputes.
Consequently, the NEC reaffirmed the 17-member NWC from the Nnewi convention. The list includes Abure as national chairman, Mr Clement Ojukwu, Dr. Ayo Olorunfemi, and Esther Gulmu as deputy national chairmen, and Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim as national secretary.
The council also filled vacant positions, with the strategical appointment of Arabambi as national vice chairman for the South West.
The move is seen as critical for strengthening the party’s organisational capacity and electoral appeal in a key geo-political zone.
Prince Favour Reuben was appointed assistant national organising secretary and Barr. Enu Kikawa as assistant national woman leader for the South South.
Meanwhile, Abure and the national secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, have signed the comprehensive list of the reaffirmed and newly appointed National Working Committee members.
They transmitted document to INEC with a formal request to update the party’s leadership information on the commission’s website and public records.
Also, INEC granted a mandate for the leadership to convene a special convention if necessary and, more imminently, ratified the decision to conduct ward, local government, and state congresses across the federation.
