Court of Appeal Upholds Abure as Labour Party Chairman

Ilesanmi AdekanbiAugust 14, 2023

1 minute read

The Court of Appeal in Benin, Edo State, has affirmed Comrade Julius Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party (LP).

The court dismissed an appeal filed by a party chieftain, Lucky Shaibu, who had challenged Abure’s leadership.

Shaibu, who claimed to be a member of LP in Esan Northeast Local Government Area of Edo, had led a faction of the party to suspend Abure as the chairman of LP. He had alleged that Abure was running the party in an autocratic manner and violating its constitution.

However, the High Court of Edo State had ruled in favour of Abure, stating that one person could not suspend the national chairman of the party as per the party’s constitution. Shaibu then appealed the judgment at the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Theresa Abadua, upheld the verdict of the lower court. The court held that Shaibu was unknown to the party and had no locus standi to challenge Abure’s position. The court also affirmed that Abure’s suspension and all actions taken against him and the party were null and void.

The court relied on Articles 13 and 17 of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022 to reach its conclusion. The court said that only a national convention of the party could elect or remove its national chairman.

Abure, who welcomed the judgment, thanked his legal team led by G.C. Igbokwe, SAN, for their professionalism and diligence. He also commended the court for its sound and courageous judgment.

Igbokwe, who spoke on behalf of the legal team, described the judgment as unimpeachable and said that it had put to rest the leadership crisis in the party. He said that Abure remained the national chairman of LP until the party would hold its convention.