Leaders of the opposition Labour Party (LP) led by Abia State’s Governor Alex Otti and Presidential Candidate of the Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, have met with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over their internal crisis.
The delegation on Wednesday included the LP Acting National Chairman Senator Nenadi Usman, Governorship Candidate of the party in the last Governorship election in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, and National Assembly members among others.
They asked the electoral body to recognise Nenadi Usman as the LP Chairman, following the Supreme Court setting aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that erstwhile recognised Abure in the position.
In a unanimous judgement last week, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the LP, having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
A statement on the INEC X-handle said the visit was to enable the delegation discuss key developments within the party since the judgement of the Supreme Court which sacked the Julius Abure led National Executive Committee.
It said that during the visit, Governor Otti presented a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgement concerning the party’s leadership to the commission.
The Governor said the meeting was aimed at fostering clarity, mutual understanding, and institutional alignment regarding the LP’s current structure.
According to the statement, the delegation was received by INEC’s Acting Chairman, Sam Olumekun, and other National Commissioners. Both parties engaged in discussions centered on enhancing collaboration and reinforcing democratic values.
Mr. Olumekun reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering commitment to neutrality, transparency, and the rule of law in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Otekunmi, said Olumekun stood in for the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who was attending the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions meeting in the Gambia.
Leaders of the opposition Labour Party on Wednesday marched to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Usman, and one other and held that it was meritorious before subsequently proceeding to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP for being unmeritorious.
Otti read out the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgement as delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro.
“Consequent upon the foregoing, the decisions of both higher court and the court below recognize Barrister Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the first respondent and hereby set aside and suit number FXC is hereby struck out for want of jurisdiction,” Otti said.
“In the same vein, the first respondent, that is labour party under Abure, being an offshoot of the same judgement of the court is hereby dismissed. Before I am done, may I admonish political parties and their members to endeavour to always abide by their constitutions, rules, regulations and guidelines to guide them in choosing their officers as well as candidates?
“That way, incessant internal risks which always find their way to court should be reduced. If the constitution of a political party has prescribed duration for tenure of office of an officer such as this one, such officer should be humble enough to leave at the expiration of the tenure.
“In the final analysis, I find this appeal to be meritorious and is hereby allowed. The party shall bear their respective cost, appeal allowed. This is signed by Honorable Justice John Inyang Okoro, Justice of the Supreme Court.”
