A major crisis has hit the Anambra State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) as a faction conducted a parallel governorship primary on Thursday, producing Jude Umenajiego as its flagbearer for the November 8, 2025 governorship election.
The primary, which held in Awka, saw Umenajiego, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Onitsha South Two, defeat John Nwosu with 180 votes to 69. Shortly after his victory, he announced Henry Mbachu, the representative for Awka South 1, as his running mate.
“With the powers conferred on me by the Electoral Act 2022, and the guidelines of our party, I hereby declare and return Jude Umenajiego as the duly elected candidate of Labour Party,” declared Sunday Okereke, the acting chairman of the electoral committee.
Umenajiego, in his acceptance speech, vowed to lead the LP to victory and use Anambra as a model for national transformation. “We will turn Nigeria from a consumption to a production economy,” he said confidently, asserting that his candidacy is the only legitimate one.
However, this new development contradicts the outcome of an earlier LP primary held five days prior, which produced Dr. George Moghalu as the official candidate. Moghalu had received a Certificate of Return and other nomination papers from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Reacting to the Thursday event, Moghalu described it as “the height of rascality,” alleging that it was staged by a paid crowd to create chaos within the party. “Some enemies of the party, sponsored by people lacking the capacity to lead, are behind this act,” he fumed.
INEC has also discredited the parallel primary, with the Commission’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Ugoma Lechukwu, stating, “We are not aware of any fresh primary election by the Labour Party. The LP has conducted and concluded its primary election and produced George Moghalu as its candidate.”
The conflicting primaries have left the party in disarray, raising concerns about its readiness for the upcoming election and the possibility of legal battles over the party’s rightful candidate.