RE: Postponement of Labour Party Congresses – A Clear Admission of Illegality and Lack of Legal Foundation
The attention of concerned stakeholders and faithful members of the Labour Party has been drawn to the sudden postponement of the party’s congresses and national convention earlier scheduled to commence on March 26, 2026, by the Senator Nenadi Usman-led Interim National Working Committee.
Ordinarily, a postponement of party activities may be presented as an administrative adjustment. However, in this instance, it is nothing short of a volte-face that amounts to an implicit admission of the glaring legal deficiencies surrounding the entire process earlier set in motion by the said group.
First, it is important to underscore that the power to convene congresses and a national convention is not arbitrary, but strictly governed by the provisions of the Labour Party Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022. These provisions mandate due process, including but not limited to:
Proper constitution and ratification by a valid National Executive Council (NEC),
Compliance with statutory notice requirements to Independent National Electoral Commission,
Participation of duly recognized party organs at all levels.
The Nenadi Usman-led structure has consistently failed to satisfy these mandatory legal thresholds.
THE POSTPONEMENT: AN IMPLIED CONFESSION
The excuse now advanced—that the postponement is to allow for “membership re-registration”—is not only weak but legally untenable. Membership registration is a continuous internal process and cannot override constitutionally fixed procedures for congresses. The sudden shift therefore exposes the uncomfortable truth:
That the earlier timetable was hastily put together without legal backing or institutional legitimacy.
That the purported Interim NWC lacks the constitutional authority to superintend over congresses in the first place.
That the entire exercise was heading towards inevitable legal nullification if allowed to proceed.
In law, actions taken without jurisdiction are void ab initio. The Supreme Court in several authorities, including Madukolu v. Nkemdilim, made it abundantly clear that where a body lacks competence, every step taken is a nullity no matter how well conducted.
THE ILLEGAL COMMITTEE: BUILDING ON NOTHING
The inauguration of a 45-member Congresses and Convention Committee chaired by Hon. Ginger Onwusibe further compounds the illegality. One cannot place something on nothing and expect it to stand—a principle firmly established in Macfoy v. UAC.
Without:
A valid NEC resolution,
A constitutionally recognized leadership,
And lawful authority to act,
the said committee is legally incompetent and its actions amount to a null exercise in futility.
A PATTERN OF IMPROVISATION AND LEGAL AVOIDANCE
This postponement is not an isolated development. It is consistent with a pattern of:
Disregard for party constitutional provisions,
Attempts to bypass due process,
And strategic retreats whenever legal scrutiny becomes imminent.
Simply put, the Nenadi Usman group is governing by improvisation rather than law.
CONCLUSION
This latest development confirms what discerning members have always maintained:
The Nenadi Usman-led structure lacks the legal standing, constitutional authority, and procedural compliance required to organize congresses or a national convention of the Labour Party.
The postponement is therefore not an act of goodwill—it is a forced retreat in the face of overwhelming legal infirmities.
Party members, Independent National Electoral Commission, and the general public are hereby urged to take notice that any future timetable emanating from the same illegal foundation will suffer the same fatal defects and is liable to be struck down by the courts.
The rule of law remains supreme. No amount of political maneuvering can substitute for constitutional compliance.
Signed:
Bulus Maisamari
