Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa has defended his recent move to take over as Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, saying his actions are backed by the law—and that he never went into hiding.

Recall that Apapa at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said a Supreme Court ruling delivered on April 4, 2025, had validated his leadership claim. He referred to Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1217/2024 and Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024 as the legal basis for his position.

Apapa, who was previously quiet after a fierce leadership dispute within the party following the 2023 elections, said he stayed away from the press as legal battles moved from one court to another.

“I didn’t disappear,” he said in an Thursday morning interview on TVC. “We’ve been going from one court to the other. Fights started from the Federal High Court to the Appeal Court, down to the Supreme Court. But as somebody who believes in the rule of law, once a court has ruled that a person should be there, you don’t need to talk again on that until another court decides otherwise.”

Speaking further on his legal battles, Apapa said: “I’ve been struggling about the issue of this court. You remember the one that happened at the Appeal Court the other time? It was a court that suspended Abure, restrained Abure. And that time, this same set of people that are now opposing Abure, they were the one that are giving Abure protection.”

He continued, “You cannot be a judge in your own matter. But that time, they were protecting him for reasons best known to them, including the NLC.”

Apapa said he chose not to speak publicly during the court processes out of respect for the rule of law. “Right now, I still have another case at the Supreme Court… For you to know that, know that I’m not quiet.”

Relying on Article 14(2)(a)(b) of the Labour Party Constitution, Apapa argued that, as the most senior Deputy National Chairman, he is now the rightful Acting Chairman.

The Labour Party remains divided between different factions. Aside from the Apapa and Abure camps, there is a third group loyal to 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti. That group, led by Nenadi Usman, also met on Wednesday and visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a copy of the Supreme Court judgment in a bid to claim control of the party.