By DADA AYOKHAI
The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri the Imo state capital has upheld the judgement of a Federal High Court which had earlier affirmed the candidacy of Ukaegbu Ikenga as the authentic Labour Party, gubernatorial candidate for the imo state gubernatorial election scheduled for the November, 11, 2023.
A Federal High Court in Bayelsa state in an earlier rulling declared the Lamidi Apapa led faction governorship primaries which produced the party governorship candidates in Bayelsa, kogi and Imo states as valid and lawful.
The two faction had organised a parallel primaries which produced two set of governorship candidates.
The election umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC gave recognition to the Abure’s faction candidates with the excuse that Abure had the INEC portal codes.
Dissatisfied with Abure’s submission of Sen. Athan Achonu’s name, one of the aspirants, Sir Basil Maduka who featured in Abure’s primary on April, 15, approached the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri in a suit challenging the primaries and joined Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph Ikenga who did not participate in the Primary alongside INEC and Labour Party as first, second and third defendants.
The Court, on the June, 23, in its judgment, upheld the candidates that emerged from the Lamidi Apapa-led faction primary in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States respectively.
:Dissatisfied with the judgment, Abure approached the Court of Appeal, and In a unanimous decision July, 20, the Court dismissed the Appeal and upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court of June 23.
Delivering judgement after hearing the submissions of counsels to both parties, the three man panel of Judges in a unanimous decision, nullified the Appeal for lacking competence.
The implication of the judgment is that, it is only the candidates that emerged from Apapa led faction that are validly nominated for the Labour Party in the November, 11 governorship Election in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi election.
.Alhaji Lamidi Apapa the then Deputy National Chairman of Labour Party LP assumed the position of Acting National Chairman of the party on 6th of April, 2023, following an FCT High Court Restraining Order of April 5, that removed Julius Abure, the then National Chairman from office and three others from Parading themselves as National Officers of the Labour Party LP
