There was a mild drama on Wednesday as the Presidential Election Petitions Court sitting at the Appeal Court in Abuja refused to accept those who announced their presence in court as representatives of the Labour Party (LP).
OsunDaily News reports that as customary, parties and lawyers announce their appearance in court when the judges enter the room and the same was in process on Wednesday before the drama ensued.
The LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, stood up to announce his appearance as the first petitioner.
Then the Labour Party national women leader, Mrs Dudu Manuga, announced her appearance as the second party representing LP but while she was speaking, the Labour Party factional chairman, Lamidi Apapa stood up to identify himself as the chairman of the LP and the party’s representative in court.
However, the five-man panel of the court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani in reaction to the development in which two different persons are claiming to be representing the Labour Party in the same matter, decided not to recognize any of them.
The Judge only accepted Obi’s announcement as the first petitioner.
“We are not writing anybody’s name representing the Labour party,” the judge said.
Though the LP ‘national chairman’, Julius Abure was in court, he did not announce an appearance.
The Labour Party has been embroiled in a leadership crisis after the 2023 elections with two factions of the party each led by Apapa and Abure both laying claim to authenticity as two separate courts in Abuja and Edo gave different orders on recognising different leadership of the political party.
