The leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party took a fresh turn on Saturday as the party’s two rival factions separately unveiled different presidential candidates for the 2027 general election, further exposing deep divisions within the opposition movement.
The faction led by Julius Abure adopted its factional National Youth Leader, Kennedy Ahanotu, as its consensus presidential candidate during primaries held in Abuja.
At nearly the same time, the rival faction led by Nenadi Usman announced governance expert and policy strategist Dr. Chibuzo Okereke as its own presidential flagbearer through a separate consensus process.
Ahanotu, 42, described his emergence as a call to service and appealed for unity within the party.
“With a full sense of responsibility and unwavering commitment to our nation, I proudly accept the nomination of our great party,” he said.
He also urged party members to embrace “unity, reconciliation and collective responsibility” ahead of the next election.
The Abure faction said Ahanotu secured 2,944,420 votes through its consensus primary process and pledged to strengthen party structures nationwide before 2027.
Meanwhile, the Usman-led faction presented Okereke as a reform-minded technocrat capable of addressing Nigeria’s governance challenges.
The faction's National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, described him as “one of Nigeria’s leading voices on public policy, legislative governance and institutional development.”
Okereke currently serves as President of the ERGAF-AFRICA Legislative Governance Innovation and Policy Hub and lectures at Miva Open University in Abuja.
The faction said his record in governance, public accountability, and democratic reforms reflects the kind of leadership Nigeria needs.
The parallel nominations underscore the continuing struggle for control of the Labour Party, with both camps laying claim to the party’s leadership ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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