Interim national chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, says former presidential candidate Peter Obi will not be able to contest the 2027 election on the party’s platform, even if he attempts to return.

Usman, speaking in a televised interview, anchored her position on provisions of the Electoral Act governing party membership and candidate eligibility. She explained that the Labour Party’s membership register must be compiled and submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least 21 days before party primaries, after which no new entrant can lawfully emerge as a candidate.

“It will be too late for him to come back because, if you look at the Act, at some point we close the register. Once we close the register 21 days before primaries and submit the e-register to INEC, you can’t come from behind the door for us to register you and for you to contest the elections. That would be impossible, legally impossible,” she said.

Usman acknowledged Obi’s central role in the Labour Party’s dramatic rise during the last general election, recalling that she herself left the Peoples Democratic Party after he persuaded her to join his then-new platform.

“Even me, he convinced me to come with him to Labour Party. Many people that are in Labour Party today were convinced by ‘let’s join Peter, go to Labour Party’ because we believed in equity and fair play,” she noted, adding that her defection was driven by dissatisfaction with the PDP’s refusal to zone its presidential ticket to the south.

The Labour Party has been riven by a leadership struggle that intensified after its strong 2023 performance. Rival factions laid claim to the national chairmanship, with Usman heading a caretaker committee opposed by the camp of former chairman Julius Abure, which branded her group an imposition.

A series of court rulings has so far favoured Usman’s faction. The Supreme Court held that Abure’s tenure had lapsed, while a Federal High Court in Abuja removed him from office and ordered INEC to recognise only the caretaker leadership pending a national convention. The Court of Appeal in Abuja later dismissed Abure’s challenge and directed INEC to deal exclusively with Usman’s team.

The prolonged crisis has triggered defections, eroded the party’s representation in the National Assembly and weakened its grassroots structures. Obi cited the internal turmoil as one of the reasons for his exit, even as Usman’s faction moves ahead with membership revalidation and has zoned the 2027 presidential ticket to the south.