The Independent National Electoral Commissio has recognised Chief George Moghalu as the Labour Party’s official candidate for the upcoming Anambra State governorship election, set for November 8, 2025.
Moghalu’s name was published by INEC, confirming the leadership of Julius Abure as the party’s National Chairman. This follows the party’s primary held on April 5 at Finotel Hotel, Awka, where Moghalu won with a total of 573 votes. His only challenger, John Nwosu, got 19 votes.
The exercise was monitored by INEC officials and election observers. Out of 649 delegates, 601 were accredited, and 592 votes were counted as valid while five were rejected.
Following the announcement, the Labour Party celebrated Moghalu’s victory in a message posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account. The message read:
“Heartfelt congratulations to Chief Dr. George Moghalu on this historic victory! May your leadership and vision propel Anambra State to new heights. Congratulations also to the good people of Anambra State on this development! Kudos to Barr Julius Abure and his entire team for this victory. The Labour Party is marching forward with strength and determination. EluPee forward ever, backward never!”
However, this development has also deepened a crisis within the Labour Party, as a rival faction held a separate primary just five days later on April 10.
That faction produced Jude Umenajiego, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Onitsha South Two, as its own candidate. Umenajiego got 180 votes, defeating John Nwosu again, who scored 69 votes.
Umenajiego quickly announced Henry Mbachu, the lawmaker for Awka South 1, as his running mate. The faction’s acting electoral chairman, Sunday Okereke, declared Umenajiego as the rightful candidate, saying the exercise followed party rules and the Electoral Act 2022.
In his speech, Umenajiego said, “I am the validly elected governorship candidate of the party. Any other person is not recognised by the Labour Party leadership.” He also promised to use Anambra as a model state to drive the LP’s goal of moving Nigeria “from consumption to production.”
Reacting to the drama, the party’s National Deputy Youth Leader, Dr Barry Johnson, confirmed that Moghalu is the only candidate recognised by the Abure-led leadership.
He blamed the internal crisis on a power struggle involving the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti. According to him, the Labour Party is now split into three camps.
“The Abure camp includes the National Working Committee and the National Executive Council,” Johnson explained. “The Obi camp consists of the Obedient Movement and the Nenadi Usman group. The Otti camp has support from the Nigeria Labour Congress and some members of the APC who are interested in the 2027 and 2031 elections.”
He added, “We were hiding this information from the media for long because we didn’t want to wash our dirty linens in public. But now, we can tell the public that the rift in the LP is due to a power tussle between Obi and Otti for control of the party ahead of 2027.”
Johnson ended by saying, “Our candidate for the Anambra governorship election remains George Moghalu from the Abure camp.”
