Court confirms Abure as LP chairman, prohibits Apapa-faction

On Friday, a State High Court that was sitting in Edo overturned the notice of suspension that had been issued against the troubled National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure. The notice of suspension had been issued by some party members at the ward level.

On Friday, the judge, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, dismissed the lawsuit because he found it to be without merit.

This information was included in a statement that was released on Friday in Abuja by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh. Ifoh also stated that Abure and the executives of LP Ward 3 in Esan North East of Edo State were the ones who brought the legal action forward.

Aihamoje concluded in his ruling, which lasted for close to two hours and lasted nearly that long, that the party ward executive in Uromi in ward 3 did not have the authority under the Labour Party Constitution, namely Act 13 & 17, and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended, to remove the national chairperson of the party. This ruling was based on Act 13 & 17, and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended.

Because of this, the judge in the case with the number HUC/21/2023 went ahead and imposed a perpetual injunction against Lamidi Apapa and his side, preventing them from dismissing or suspending Abure from his position as national chairman of the party until a new national convention of the party is convened.

Aihamoje went on to assert that the alleged members of the wards 3 executive who were responsible for suspending the national chairperson of the party had behaved in a manner that was inconsistent with the authority granted to them under the Labour Party Constitution.

Thompson Ehiguese, the Chairman of the Labour Party in Ward 3, gave a statement to the journalists present at the courthouse in response to the verdict. He stated that the judgement has put an end to impostors who were masquerading as members of the Labour Party in the ward.

He made his statement as follows: “These charlatans claiming to be members of our party are from Edo North and are members of the APC.” I would want to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations to the Labour Party as well as the Obedient Movement for their unwavering support of Comrade Julius Abure throughout the fabricated turmoil that plagued our great party.

Barrister Julius Abure will continue to serve as national Chairman of the party till the party convention that will take place the following year, as the verdict makes it very plain. There is nothing that can shake the collective determination that we have to recover the mandate that the Nigerian populace willingly gave to Mr. Peter Obi and the party in the most recent presidential election.

Kelly Ogbaloi, the Chairman of the Edo State Labour Party, stated that the Labour Party has been vindicated, adding that the court has established that Apapa and his faction are ‘tragic power seekers.’

“Apapa, who before that was a deputy national chairman and a custodian of the constitution of the party, knew that the act of those who came to Abuja to announce the suspension of the national chairman was not doing so legally, since the action was an aberration to the provisions of the party’s constitution. As a result, he ran to the court in order to seek an ex-parte motion to restrain the national chairman.

“Today they have basically been told that the charade can no longer be entertained by the court,” he said. “The court cannot continue to play along with it.”

After being contacted, the spokesman for the faction led by Lamidi Apapa, Abayomi Arabambi, said that he intended to give a press conference to discuss the verdict.

As of the time that the report was being written, there had been no communication with him.