Court Passes Judgement On Labour Party Leadership Tussle

Julius Abure has been confirmed as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).

A State High Court in Edo passed the judgement on Friday, putting aside a suit by Lamidi Apapa‘s camp.

OsunDaily News understands that some party members at the ward level had issued a notice of suspension to Abure.

However, the high court judge, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, threw away the case on Friday for lacking merit.

At the court session, which reportedly lasted about two hours on Friday, Aihamoje said that the party ward executive in Uromi in Ward 3 lacked the power under the LP constitution, particularly Act 13 & 17 and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended to remove the national chairman of the party.

Therefore, the judge in Suit No: HUC/21/2023 went ahead to impose a perpetual injunction against Lamidi Apapa and his faction from removing or suspending Abure as the national chairman until a new national convention of the party is convened.

Aihamoje further stated that the purported wards three executives who suspended the party’s national chairman acted outside the powers vested on it by the Labour Party Constitution.

Addressing journalists after the court judgement today, the LP Ward 3 Chairman, Thompson Ehiguese, said the court’s verdict has ended impostors masquerading as members of the labour party in the ward.

He said, “These charlatans claiming to be members of our party are from Edo North and members of APC. I want to use this medium to congratulate the Labour Party and the Obidient Movement that stood firmly with Comrade Julius Abure while the sponsored crisis in our great party lasted.

“The judgement is explicitly clear that Barrister Julius Abure remains the national Chairman until the party convention holds next year. Nothing can change our collective resolve to reclaim the Nigerian masses’ mandate freely given to Mr Peter Obi and the party in the last presidential election.”