Labour Party in Disarray as Appeal Court Sacks Abure, Recognises Apapa as National Chairman
The Labour Party (LP) is facing a leadership crisis as the Court of Appeal in Owerri on Thursday nullified the position of Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the party.
The court also upheld the claim of Lamidi Apapa as the authentic National Chairman of the party.
The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise and publish the names of all the governorship candidates produced by the Apapa-led National Working Committee (NWC) in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states.
The court also dismissed Senator Athan Achonu, the governorship candidate of Imo State and others from the Abure-led faction of the LP.
The judgement delivered by Justice Owoade Oyewole was based on an appeal filed by Apapa challenging the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja that affirmed Abure as the LP chairman.
Apapa had argued that he was duly elected as the LP chairman at a national convention held in Akure, Ondo State, on October 3, 2018.
The court agreed with Apapa and held that Abure’s purported election as the LP chairman at a national convention held in Abuja on October 9, 2018, was illegal, null and void. The court also held that Abure’s faction had no locus standi to nominate or sponsor any candidate for any election under the LP.
The court further held that Apapa’s faction was the only valid and legitimate organ of the LP and that INEC should deal with them exclusively. The court also awarded N100,000 cost against Abure and his co-respondents.
The judgement has thrown the LP into confusion as it contradicts an earlier judgement by the Court of Appeal in Benin, Edo State, which had on August 14 affirmed Abure as the chairman of LP. It is not clear how the party will resolve the conflicting judgements and present a united front for the upcoming elections.
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