At last, the presumed Labour Party crisis has come to a solid end. Many obedients in Imo state in particular have come to describe the apex court victory as “truth triumphing over evil” as the Supreme Court, yesterday affirmed Sen.Athan NneJi Achonu as the Imo state gubernatorial candidate for November 11 poll, as well as legitimised Barr. Julius Abure as the national chairman.
In a statement, Obiora Ifoh, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, explained that one Basil Maduka had gone to the apex court to contest the Labour Party’s rightful candidate for the Imo state governorship election on the ground of locus standi.
However, a panel of five justices led by Honourable Justice Inyang Okoro dismissed the suit, cautioning the appellant for abusing court process and wasting the time of the courts all through from the lower courts.
Two other respondents in the matter were Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Lamidi Apapa-led candidate, Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, whose request to seek for a consequential order was also rejected by the Supreme Court.
With this judgement by the highest court in Nigeria, the Lamidi Apapa’s plot to hijack the affairs of the Labour Party including the powers to nominate candidates has finally come to an end.
Also the court, contrary to earlier rumours and misinformation declined to make any orders that would have changed the leadership of the Labour Party at the National Level and also the party’s candidacy in the forth coming November 11 governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States.
The judgement also means that Senator Athan Achonu remains the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Imo State, in the forthcoming November 11 poll.
The LP in the state noted that this further lays to rest the uncertainty surrounding the false rumour that Senator Athan Achonu was removed by the Supreme Court in favour of Chief Joseph Ukegbu.
Speaking to the media shortly after the judgment, the counsel to the Labour Party, Barrister Okwudili Anozie, said, “today at the Supreme Court, the antics of Basil Maduka and his accomplice, Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, was put to an end, as they met their waterloo at the Apex Court”.
He described the outcome as a culmination of their deceit and lies to Imolites, spanning from their misrepresentation of the true position of the judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
“Upon the exposure and collapse of their lies before the Supreme Court today, Basil’s Counsel, with tails in between his legs, immediately withdrew his subterfuge appeal that was aimed at giving credence to Ukaegbu’s sham, non-existent primaries.
“It is important to state that the Supreme Court didn’t entertain Ukaegbu’s counsel’s ignorant attempt to seek for a consequential order to make Ukaegbu the candidate of the authentic candidate of the party, which even a first year student of law knows cannot be sought by a respondent, especially in this case where the appeal was dismissed.
“Indeed, today has been a day of reckoning for evil doers whose sole plan was to stop the aspiration of Imolites in their determination to Take Imo Back through Senator Athan Nneji Achonu”, he submitted.
Recall that Apapa and his group comprising former members of the party has consistently claimed that Abure was suspended by his ward in Edo State and hence was no longer recognised as such, a claim that the party debunked.
Unfortunately, despite earlier Court pronouncements, Apapa was unrelenting and always found reasons to misinterpret and misrepresent the rulings of court.
The main target of their antics was the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Imo State, Senator Athan Nneji Achonu.
They kept thrusting up other candidates, claiming they were authentic without respect to court judgements to the contrary.
Their obsession with Imo gave rise to speculations that they were being sponsored by the ruling APC government in the state to confuse the electorate.
The Supreme Court has,now proved once again that the judiciary despite its teething challenges, remains the last hope of the common man
“With this ruling, truth has prevailed. Therefore, Senator Athan Nneji Achonu campaign organisation assures Ndi Imo they now have a clear choice to follow the light, as the thick darkness pervading the state has begun to filter away and shall be ultimately dispelled on November 11 when a new helmsman shall be elected to govern the state”.
Recall that Maduka had dragged Ukaegbu before the Federal High Court, Owerri over the outcome of gubernatorial primaries conducted by the Apapa led faction of the Labour party. That suit was dismissed on the ground that Maduka had no locus standi to challenge the outcome of the primaries.
He proceeded to the Court of Appeal in Abuja where the case was also trashed, resulting in the appeal to Supreme Court where they wanted Ukaegbu to be declared candidate of the party.
The apex court in its wisdom dismissed both Maduka’s appeal and the application that Ukaegbu wanted to bring.
The apex court also warned Ukaegbu’s lawyer to desist from the sharp practices he had been involved in.
NIGERIA NEWSPOINT
