Lagos Electoral Body Acknowledges Labour Party’s Fragmentation into Three Factions

 On May 15, 2025, the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) officially recognized the existence of three distinct factions within the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos, complicating preparations for the 2025 local government elections. The acknowledgment highlights the party’s internal crisis and its implications for Nigeria’s political landscape.

LASIEC’s statement followed submissions from the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee, the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee, backed by Peter Obi and Alex Otti, and the Lamidi Apapa faction, which emerged on April 10, 2025, claiming leadership after a Supreme Court ruling. The Abure faction, recognized by a 2024 Court of Appeal decision, controls 60% of Lagos’s 20 local government executives, while Usman’s group, formed in September 2024, holds 30%, and Apapa’s faction, with historical influence, claims 10%. LASIEC, tasked with conducting polls for 20 chairmen and 377 councillors, noted that the factions submitted conflicting candidate lists, risking disqualification if unresolved by June 2025.

Lagos, with 7 million registered voters, is critical for LP, which secured 25% of 2023 presidential votes there. The crisis, costing ₦300 million in legal battles, has paralyzed ward-level primaries, with 80% of 245 wards reporting disputes. Abure’s faction insists on its legitimacy, citing INEC’s recognition, while Usman’s group plans a state convention by July, backed by 15,000 members. Apapa’s return, leveraging a Supreme Court stance on non-justiciable party disputes, has reignited 2023 tensions when his faction briefly seized LP’s Lagos secretariat.

The fragmentation threatens LP’s 500,000 Lagos voters, with 40% considering APC defections per 2025 surveys. LASIEC has urged factions to reconcile or risk exclusion, as Nigeria’s Electoral Act mandates unified tickets. The state’s ₦2.7 trillion 2025 budget allocates ₦10 billion for elections, but delays could disrupt 3 million expected voters. The LP’s disarray, with 90% of national executives divided, demands urgent mediation to preserve its opposition role in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub.