Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The interim national chairperson of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, has declared that it will be “too late” for the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to return to the party ahead of the 2027 elections, citing a strict deadline set by the Electoral Act. In a Wednesday interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time,’ Usman said that once the party closes its membership register 21 days before the primaries and submits its electronic register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), no new member can be admitted “through the back door.” The statement effectively shuts the door on months of speculation that Obi, who is currently a leading aspirant in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), might return to the party he led to a historic third-place finish in the 2023 presidential election.
Usman, who was appointed caretaker chairperson following a Supreme Court judgment that nullified the convention that returned Julius Abure as national chairman, stressed that the party will operate strictly by the rule of law. “It will be too late for Peter Obi to come back to the Labour Party because if you look at the Electoral Act, at some points, we will close the register. You cannot come when that is done,” she said. The senator, who acknowledged that Obi convinced her to join the Labour Party in 2023, insisted that the party’s focus now is on the future and on following the legal framework. “Obi actually took the party to greater heights in 2023. There’s nobody who can match that momentum like he did. He convinced me to join him in the Labour Party, and not just me but also many people that are in the Labour Party today because we believe in equity and fair play,” she told the programme.
Usman’s comments came less than 24 hours after the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed an appeal filed by Abure seeking to overturn the lower court’s judgment that affirmed Usman as the party’s legitimate leader. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, held that the Supreme Court had conclusively settled the leadership dispute within the Labour Party on April 4, 2025, when it nullified the convention that purported to return Abure as national chairman. The court dismissed Abure’s appeal as lacking in merit and awarded a cost of N10 million against him. Abure, however, has rejected the ruling and vowed to challenge it at the Supreme Court.
Obi’s relationship with the Labour Party has been a subject of intense speculation since he left the party to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in late 2025. The former Anambra governor has been positioning himself as a leading aspirant for the ADC’s presidential ticket, alongside other opposition heavyweights such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. However, there have been persistent reports that some stakeholders within the Labour Party, including Usman, have been pushing for Obi’s return to the party, a move that Abure’s faction has vehemently opposed. In April 2026, a factional secretary of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, declared that Obi “can never return to the Labour Party,” accusing the former candidate of undermining the party by endorsing ADC candidates in recent by-elections.
Usman’s latest statement appears to be an attempt to put an end to the speculation and to assert her authority over the party’s membership register ahead of the 2027 primaries. Under the Electoral Act, political parties are required to close their membership register 21 days before the conduct of primaries. The register, once submitted to INEC, is considered the final list of legitimate members eligible to vote or be voted for in the party’s primaries. Usman’s warning that “no one can come from the back door” suggests that the party will not grant Obi any special dispensation, even if he were to declare his intention to return.
The Labour Party, under Usman’s leadership, has been working to rebuild its structures ahead of the 2027 elections. The party has secured the recognition of INEC and has been conducting nationwide membership registration drives. Usman has also backed the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket to the South, in line with Nigeria’s long-standing principle of power rotation. The party is also considering forming a coalition with other opposition parties to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has already set its presidential primary for May 15 and 16, 2026.
Obi, for his part, has not publicly commented on Usman’s statement. He has, however, been actively campaigning across the country, calling for greater investment in education and human capital development. In a recent interview, he restated his plan to stand for the presidential election in 2027, without specifying under which party banner. Political analysts note that while Obi remains a popular figure, his electoral prospects may be hampered by the fragmentation of the opposition and the lack of a clear, unified platform. Usman’s statement adds another layer of uncertainty, as it suggests that the Labour Party, which was Obi’s original vehicle, is now firmly closed to him. As the 2027 election cycle gathers momentum, the former presidential candidate may find that the window of opportunity to return to his former party has indeed been slammed shut.
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