Appeal Court Affirms Lamidi Apapa As LP National Chairman, Sacks Abure

The Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State has affirmed Lamidi Apapa as the Labour Party, LP National Chairman and sacked Julius Abure.

The court in a ruling on Thursday recognised Lamido Apapa as the authentic national chairman of the party.

The court also nullified the candidacy of the governorship candidates who emerged from Abure-led faction of the party, including Senator Athan Achonu who was in the running to contest in the next election in Imo state.

The court ordered electoral body Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the governorship candidates of the party who emerged from Apapa-led faction in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states and publish their names.

The leadership tussle between Abure and Apapa has been going back and forth.

For instance, last Monday, a Court of Appeal in Benin City, Edo State capital, affirmed Abure as the authentic national chairman of the party, according to a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh.

In his lead judgment, Justice Abadua affirmed the decision of the High Court of Edo State and held that one man cannot suspend the national chairman of the party in line with Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution of the Party and the extant Electoral Act of 2022.

Recall that in April the party’s leadership crisis had come to a head after seven members of its National Working Committee, announced the National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, as the acting chairman of the party, replacing the suspended chairman, Julius Abure.

Some stern-looking police officers swiftly took over the secretariat of the party.

Meanwhile, some political thugs had earlier stormed the Labour Party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

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Speaking after an emergency meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja, Apapa said the NWC members acted on the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory High Court which restrained Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the party.

Apart from Abure, the court also restrained three other officials of the party over alleged forgery.