A suit by Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party (LP), seeking to replace the party’s governorship candidate in Imo has been adjourned.
The Apapa’s faction had through an ex parte motion prayed the court not to recognize Athan Achonu as the party’s standard bearer for the just concluded Saturday’s governorship election.
The plaintiffs in the matter include LP; Alhaji Apapa (Acting National Chairman); Alhaji Lawal Saleh (Acting National Secretary) and Comrade Abayomi Arabambi (National Publicity Secretary).
Others are Comrade Anslem Eragbe (National Youth Leader); Barr. Akingbade Oyelekan (National Legal Adviser) and Chief Joseph Ikechukwu Ukaegbu
(Gubernatorial candidate, Imo State) as 1st to 7th plaintiffs respectively.
Earlier in the proceedings, the presiding Judge, Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja, had also declined to grant the Julius Abure-led faction application for joinder in the matter.
Okwudili Anozie and Kehinde Edun had in the middle announced appearances as lawyers to parties interested to be joined in the matter.
While adopting further affidavit he deposed to counsel to the plaintiffs, Anderson Asemota, who held the brief of Mohammed Mohammed, SAN argued that LP, the 1st plaintiff in the suit, only submitted to INEC Chief Joseph Ukaegbu (7th plaintiff)’s name as its authentic candidate that emerged from the April 16 primaries.
He said Achonu’s name was neither submitted to INEC by the LP nor was the name declared to be the party’s candidate of the April 16 primaries and by virtue of the judgment of Owerri Federal High Court.(FHC), which affirmed the primary conducted by Apapa faction as being valid.
Besides, he said the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court affirmed the Owerri court judgment which also declared Apapa and Alhaji Lawal Saleh as acting National Chairman and acting National Secretary of the LP respectively.
The lawyer, who said the commission treated the judgments of the courts with ignominy, stated that the court had the duty to protect the judgments and should not allow its orders to be treated with disdain and impunity.
The Independent National Electoral commission’s counsel, Adenike Adedeji, while adopting the application, said the electoral umpire filed the affidavit on Nov. 9 in reaction to the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1357/2023 which was filed on Nov. 6.
She urged the court to dismiss the motion as the subject matter of the plaintiffs’ case was pre-electoral which ought to have been filed 14 days after the actual cause of action.
Delivering the ruling on Friday
Friday, Justice Ekwo said he had perused and noted the issues canvassed by the parties.
“In our jurisprudence, ex-parte application and affidavit to show cause are not proper processes designed to be employed to determine contentious issues,” he said.
“Parties are hereby ordered to file and exchange relevant processes at least 7 days before the next date of hearing.
“This shall be the order of this court,” the court declared.
He has adjourned the matter until Nov. 23 for hearing.
The plaintiffs, in the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1357/2023, sued INEC as sole defendant.
They had sought an order of interim injunction restraining INEC from “recognising any other person or persons laying claim to the LP gubernatorial ticket in Imo governorship election slated for 11th November, 2023 other than the plaintiff (Ukaegbu) who emerged from the primary conducted by the Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led National Working Committee (NWC) of LP on April 16.
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