“Labour Party has only one leadership and that leadership is the National Working Committee led by myself, Barrister Julius Abure.”
By Israel Okah
The plot by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to disrupt Labour Party and hopefully truncate Peter Obi’s petition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is becoming more desperate, even as Julius Abure reasserts his chairmanship of the party.
Today in Kano, the Lamidi Apapa led dissidents obtained an order from a Kano State high court that all the Lists of candidates submitted by the Abure leadership for the 2023 general elections are null and void as the group did not endorse it.
Samuel Akingbade Oyelekan, suspended National Legal Adviser and a key member of the Apapa group, had on Wednesday clandestinely sneaked out of Abuja to Kano where he in collaboration with some members of other political parties asked the court to invalidate all the elections won by the Labour Party, particularly, the national assembly in the 36 states and FCT on the ground that they did not submit register of voters to INEC.
Akingbade presented himself as representing Labour Party, and did not oppose the motion. The judge reserved judgement for Thursday.
At the resumed sitting on Thursday, Labour Party sent a lawyer but the Judge refused to recognise him, and rather recognised Akingbade who refused to oppose the motion.
The judge went ahead and granted the prayers.
As the drama was going on in Kano, Abure was fighting back in Abuja to reassert himself as the national chairman of Labour Party.
He was at the tribunal on Wednesday but did not present himself as the official representative of the party.
On Thursday afternoon he addressed a press conference at the national party secretariat in Abuja and updated the media on the intrigues to kick him out of the party.
His speech: “It has become imperative for me to address this press conference to properly put the legal issues surrounding the leadership of the party on their proper perspectives for quite some time now about the leadership of the party. It is pertinent to state categorically and clearly that Labour Party has no faction. Labour Party has only one leadership and that leadership is the National Working Committee led by myself, Barrister Julius Abure.
“Recall that some few members of the party burgled themselves into the office and appointed themselves, four of them, as officers of the party acting on the purported and upon a restraining order, an ex parte order granted by the FCT High Court.
“A cursory look at the originating summons which is pending before the High Court of the FCT, Apapa and his cohorts asking that court upon granting their reliefs in the final judgement to direct the NEC to appoint interim national officers for the party.
Out of desperation they are not patient enough to wait for the outcome of the final judgment but employed self-help and appointed themselves National Officers of the Party.
“However, our objection to the court jurisdiction was overruled by Justice J. Muazu of FCT High Court on 12th May. On the same day, we filled a Notice of Appeal. Then on Wednesday 17th May, the Appeal was entered at the Court of Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/559/2023. Also we have filled our Appellant Brief of Argument which has been served on the trial courts.
By necessary implication the FCT High Court in Maitama ceases to have jurisdiction over the matter. The matter is now on the course list of the Court of Appeal. So, what the High Court judge is expected to do is to adjourn the matter sine-die.
It is worthy of note that in 2021 in Suleiman V. APC reported in NWLR (2023) 5 NWLR 211-416 Supreme Court same Justice Muazu wrongly assumed jurisdiction. His decision was jettisoned by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme. This report was communicated but surprisingly he went ahead to assume jurisdiction.
However, having appealed and filed a motion for stay which has been served on the judge, I and my colleagues have now fully assumed our constitutional responsibilities as National Officers of the Party.”
