The Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) National Working Committee (NWC) has insisted that the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, remain suspended, rejecting the Edo State High Court’s ruling.
WITHIN NIGERA recalls that some Labour Party members at the ward level had issued a notice of suspension to Abure.
However, on Friday, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje of the Edo High Court dismissed the case for lack of merit.
Aihamoje stated in court on Friday that the party ward executive in Uromi in Ward 3 lacked the power under the LP constitution, specifically Act 13 & 17 and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended, to remove the party’s national chairman.
As a result, the judge in Suit No: HUC/21/2023 issued a perpetual injunction prohibiting Lamidi Apapa and his faction from removing or suspending Abure as national chairman until the party convenes a new national convention.
Dr. Abayomi Arabambi, National Publicity Secretary of the Apapa faction, told journalists in Abuja that the claim that an Edo State High Court had restored Julius Abure as National Chairman was unacceptable.
According to Arabambi, the Labour Party would not have considered it necessary to respond to what he called a “beer parlour response” laced with deliberate falsehood.
The expelled LP spokesperson said:
We just received a judgment of the Edo State High Court today in which the court set aside the suspension of Julius Abure as a member of its ward pursuant to Article 10 (2)(I) of the Labour Party Constitution by the Ward Executive.
The effect of this judgment would have just merely restored Abure’s membership of the party since he is still restrained from parading himself as National officer of the party.
Unfortunately, NEC, which is the highest organ of the party, in its meeting held in Bauchi on the 3rd of May, 2023, further suspended Abure and some other members of the party for attending an illegal NEC meeting purportedly called by Julius Abure while the restraining Order of the FCT High was still subsisting.
The implication of the suspension of Abure by NEC in Bauchi makes today’s judgment a mere academic exercise as NEC, which is the highest Order of the party, had already suspended Abure and his cohorts. Simply put, by virtue of the restraining Order of the FCT High Court which is yet to be vacated or set aside, Abure still remains restrained.
Also, by virtue of the NEC suspension of Abure, pursuant to its power under Article 13(2)(b)(Iv) of the Labour Party Constitution in the Bauchi, Abure remains suspended.
The whole world is aware that Mr Allex Ijetieme SAN on Friday, May 12th, 2023 filed an appeal against the decision of the FCT high court which ordered the suspension and restraining of Julius Abure and three others from parading themselves as National officers pending the determination of the originating summon and motion on notice.
Question begging for an answer is when a matter is before a court of Appeal, Can any junior court sit or adjudicate on such a matter again until the appeal court decides otherwise?
The answer is Negative. Therefore the Edo state high court judgment is an exercise in futility, null and void as the subject matter is already a subject of appeal before the Court of Appeal Abuja.
Labour Party wishes to advise Mr Allex Ijetieme SAN to tread the path of caution with this judicial rascality else we shall petition the Legal Practitioner Disciplinary Committee of the NBA so that punitive measures can be taken against him for spreading deliberate falsehood against the judiciary.
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