Press Release
JULIUS ABURE’S APPEAL COURT VICTORY HAS AFFIRMED SENATOR ATHAN ACHONU AS THE AUTHENTIC, INDISPUTED IMO LABOUR PARTY GUBER CANDIDATE FOR NOVEMBER 11 ELECTION
The Senator Athan Achonu Campaign Organization received with great joy, the much anticipated good news that the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, the Edo State capital has finally declared our Party Chairman, Barr. Julius Abure, as the substantive National Chairman of the Labour Party.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Obiora Ifoh, disclosed the court’s decision in a statement issued Monday, August 14, 2023, confirmed that the case with No: CA/B/93/2023, filed by Mr. Lucky Shaibu against Julius Abure and five others, was dismissed by a properly constituted Appeal Court justices, comprising Justices Theresa Ngolika Orji Abadua, Fatima Akinbami and Sybil O. Nwaka-Gbagi, who were unanimous in throwing out the case.
Shauibu, a member of the Labour Party Executive in Ward 3, in Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, had allegedly suspended the chairman of the Labour Party, but in the lead judgment, Justice Theresa Ngolika Orji Abadua affirmed the decision of the High Court of Edo State and held that one man cannot suspend the national chairman of Labour Party, in line with Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution of the Party and the extant rules of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The affirmation of Julius Abure as our undisputed National Chairman, by the Court of Appeal, has thus laid to rest, the dispute over the authentic candidate of the Labour Party, LP, for the Imo State governorship election in November, which has now been resolved unequivocally, in favour of Sen. Athan Nneji Achonu.
We never had any doubts whatsoever, that Comrade Julius Abure, who empanelled the Committee that conducted the April 15, 2023, Imo Labour Party Governorship Primaries, from which Senator Athan Achonu emerged as the duly elected Gubernatorial candidate of the party, was the authentic National Chairman of Labour Party, even while the brouhaha over to the ill-conceived, spurious suspension and the needless, diversionary litigations, instituted by the authority of an illegally composed leadership led by Lamidi Apapa, lasted.
We recall that while the litigations lasted, some persons belonging to the Lamidi Apapa group, especially Chief Joseph Ikechukwu Ukaegbu, had deliberately attempted to mislead Imolites and misinform the general public by claiming that a Bayelsa/Owerri Federal High Court judgment, which they dubiously twisted and misinterpreted, had sacked Senator Athan Achonu and declared him as the Imo Labour Party guber candidate.
Suffice it to say that while we do not wish to give them relevance by indulging in issues that we are not a party to, it is important, for the purpose of clarification, to state here that the Bayelsa/Owerri Federal High Court Judgement emanated from an arranged governorship primaries involving two Labour Party members, namely: Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph and Sir Basil Maduka.
Chief Ukaegbu reportedly won in that exercise but Sir Maduka, piqued by the outcome approached the Court to challenge the result.
Neither the authentic Labour Party, led by Barrister Julius Abure nor its candidate, Senator Athan Achonu, were listed or joined as parties in the litigation and the matter, which was decided in favour of Ukaegbu over Maduka, has absolutely nothing to do with the leadership of the party or the candidacy Senator Achonu, a product of a properly conducted primaries by Abure-led NWC.
The judgment of the said Federal High Court delivered on the 23rd day of June, 2023 by His Lordship, Hon Justice B.O Quadir in Suit No FHC/OW/CS/28/2023, dismissed Sir Maduka’s petition on the ground that: “the plaintiff Sir Basil Maduka does not fall within the definition of an aspirant as it never participated in the process leading to the primary election nor took part in the primary election of the 1st Defendant LP.”
For emphasis, the court never pronounced Chief Ukaegbu as the candidate of the Labour Party and no court has pronounced Ukaegbu as the Imo Labour Party Governorship candidate, including the Abuja Court of Appeal judgement, which wisely declined our application to join in Sir Maduka’s Appeal against the Bayelsa/Owerri High Court ruling, on the legal ground that since we were not a party to the original matter, there was therefore no need, to apply for joinder at the Appellate level.
Unfortunately however, the semi-literate publicists of Chief Joseph Ukaegbu, obviously working on his instructions, mischievously misinterpreted the two judgements and went to town declaring Ukaegbu, as the Labour Party candidate for the Imo governorship election. How so desperately pathetic.
We equally recall another matter in which one Kenneth Agbim, who participated in the authentic Imo State Labour Party Governorship Primaries, had approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, to challenge the victory of Senator Athan Achonu at the April 15, 2023 Imo Labour Party guber primaries on several grounds including improper nomination and non-compliance to the electoral law in the conduct of the primary election.
However, the Court, citing several sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, including sections 223 (I) and 84 (1), (2 ) (5) of the Electoral Act 2022, declared that the primary election was conducted in full compliance of the law and Senator Athan Achonu, who satisfied all the nomination processes, in which Agbim himself also took part in, was properly and validly elected as the Imo Labour Party Governorship candidate for the November election.
In a judgement delivered by Justice J.K Omotosho, on Wednesday, 19th July 2023, the Court dismissed the suit filed by Kenneth Agbim against the election of Sen. Achonu, on the grounds that it lacks merit and lacks locus standi and declared Senator Athan Nneji Achonu as the duly elected Imo State Labour Party Governorship candidate for the November 11 Gubernatorial election.
With the re-affirmation of Comrade Julius Abure as the authentic National Chairman of Labour Party, by the Court of Appeal in Benin, the legal tango over Abure’s suspension has finally been settled decisively and the coast is certainly clearer now, for Sen. Athan Nneji Achonu to go about his campaign without any more distractions.
It has now become evident to Imolites and the general public, that Senator Athan Nneji Achonu is and remains the undisputed, authentic, duly elected Governorship candidate ofLabour Party in the Imo guber poll in November. The Court has spoken loud and clear. No more controversy.
#Athan is coming.
Signed:
Chibuikem Diala
Director, Media
Senator Athan Achonu Campaign Organisation