Politics
FACT CHECK: Did Court Affirm Lamidi Apapa As Labour Party Chairman?
On Friday afternoon, there were reports in some media that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had “affirmed” Lamidi Apapa as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
Apapa is a suspended Deputy National Chairman of the party.
He has been in a tussle with the National Chairman of the LP, Barr Julius Abure, who was suspended by a court on April 5, 2023, for more than a month.
EDITOR’S PICKS
The Genesis of the Labour Party leadership crisis
On March 31, 2023, Labour Party executives in Ward 03, Arue, Esan North East Local Government Area, Edo State, issued a communique announcing that they have suspended Abure as a member of the party.
They accused Abure and other national officers of forging several documents to carry out unlawful substitutions in the last elections.
They subsequently approached the FCT High Court seeking the declaration of the court that the national officers “lack the moral and legal standing to continue to function in office.”
Consequently, the court granted the prayers of the plaintiffs, including an order restraining Abure; Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary, Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary and Oluchi Opara, treasurer, from parading themselves as national officers of the LP.
National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure is in tussle with Lamidi Apapa over the control of the party
Lamidi Apapa’s Insurgence
Following the court judgement, Apapa, the deputy national chairman of the party (South), declared himself as the acting national chairman.
On April 6, 2023, Apapa said he had taken over the affairs of the party following a court order restraining Abure from parading himself as chairman of the party.
The declaration split the LP into two factions, one loyal to Abure and another aligned with Apapa.
The Abure faction, which says it is the authentic one, subsequently suspended Apapa alongside Samuel Akingbade, national legal adviser; Gbenga Daramola, national financial secretary; Anselem Eragbe, national youth leader; and Abayomi Arabambi, national publicity secretary.
Despite the chairmen of the LP in all 36 states backing the Abure faction, Apapa refused to back down and asked the FCT High Court to declare him as the party’s national chairman.
FCT High Court rules
On Friday, May 12, 2023, the Abure faction of the LP asked the FCT High Court to dismiss Apapa’s suit.
The faction argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter.
However, the court, presided over by Justice Hamza Muazu, ruled that it has jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Justice Muazu ruled that it is no longer the law that the court cannot adjudicate in political parties’ matters.
The judge also held that if the party had been at peace with itself, there would not be any need for the court to interfere in its affairs.
“When there is no crack on the wall, there will not be a need for an outsider to come to mend it,” he said.
Muazu further held that the plaintiffs’ case is justiciable, contrary to the submission of the counsel for Abure and Farouk, Alex Ejesieme, SAN.
He subsequently adjourned the court to Friday, May 19, 2023, to hear the substantive matter.
Apapa’s controversial statement
Following the ruling, Apapa erroneously told reporters that the court had placed him in charge of the affairs of the party.
“With this ruling, there is no doubt that I am in charge. As of today, I am the acting National Chairman of the Labour Party,” he asserted.
He subsequently directed all the party’s lawyers handling its election petition before the presidential election petition court, to within 48 hours come and brief him on the processes so far.
His “directive” fueled accusations by the Abure faction that Apapa was trying to withdraw the party’s case from the tribunal.
Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi
Following the outcome of the February 25 presidential election, Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi had approached the tribunal to fault the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu president-elect, saying he scored 8.79 million votes ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party who polled 6.98 million votes. Obi came third with 6.10 million votes.
High-stakes Case
The ruling of the court in the suit brought by Apapa is expected to have wide-ranging consequences for the future of the party which is currently litigating its loss in the last presidential election.
The Apapa faction has signalled multiple times that it is not sympathetic to Obi’s petition at the tribunal.
If the court ruled in the faction’s favour, the LP may remove itself as a plaintiff in the petition against Tinubu’s victory.
Nevertheless, the electoral act backs Obi to personally pursue the case without the involvement of his party.
VERDICT: Despite the FCT High Court ruling that it has the jurisdiction to hear the suit brought by Apapa, it is false that it affirmed the latter as the LP national chairman. In fact, the court is yet to rule on the substantive matter. It is expected to hear the case on May 19, 2023.
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The hearing is expected to begin a legal firestorm that will end up at the Supreme Court.
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