Court has affirmed Abure as LP Chairman and restrained Apapa-faction.
NewsOnline reports that High Court sitting in Benin City, the Edo State capital has dismissed the notice of suspension issued against the embattled National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, by some party members at the ward level.
The judge, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, on Friday, threw out the case for lacking merit.
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A copy of the judgement was shared by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, who also confirmed that the action was filed by Abure and the executives of LP Ward 3 in Esan North East of Edo State.
In his judgement, which lasted for nearly two hours, Aihamoje judged that the party ward executive in Uromi in ward 3 lacked the power under the Labour Party Constitution, particularly Act 13 & 17 and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended to remove the national chairman of the party.
The judge in Suit No: HUC/21/2023 therefore went ahead to impose 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 was convened.
The judge stated that the purported ward 3 executive who suspended Abure as the national chairman of the party acted outside the powers vested on it by the Labour Party Constitution.
Reacting to the ruling, LP Ward 3 Chairman, Thompson Ehiguese, told journalists at the court premises that the judgement has put an end to impostors who are 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 Nigerian masses’ mandate freely given to Mr Peter Obi and the party in the last presidential election.
Edo Labour Party Chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi, affirmed that the Labour party has been vindicated, adding that the court has confirmed Apapa and his faction are ‘tragic power seekers.’
He said: “Apapa, who before then 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, instead, he ran to the court, seeking ex-parte motion to restrain the national chairman.
“Today they have been basically told that the charade can no longer be entertained by the court.”
But the Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Apapa insisted that the embattled national chairman, Abure remained suspended from the party.
National Publicity Secretary of the Apapa-led faction, Abayomi Arabambi said this during a press conference in response to the judgement of Edo State High Court restoring Abure back as national chairman.
Arabambi said the judgment of the Edo court was an exercise in futility as the party, during its National Executive Council meeting in Bauchi, had already suspended Abure and other officials of the party.
Besides, Arabambi argued that Abure was yet to vacate an order of the FCT High Court which restrained him (Abure) and three others from parading themselves as officials of the party.
Although Abure has approached the Appeal Court, the court is yet to rule on the matter.
