Justice Inyang Ekwo denied an ex-parte motion filed by the LamidiApapa-led segment of the party opposing Achonu’s nomination.
News.ng learnt that just 48 hours before Imo State’s gubernatorial election, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday blocked legal attempts to exclude Senator Athan Achonu, the Labour Party’s candidate, from running.
The Lamidi Apapa-led wing of the party filed an ex-parte motion opposing Achonu’s candidacy, but the court dismissed it in a decision delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo.
Rather than accepting the application that the group submitted via the legal team headed by Mr Mohammed Mohammed, SAN, Justice Ekwo directed that the court procedures be served to the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC so that INEC could respond to the lawsuit.
The matter was then postponed by the court until tomorrow for more consideration.
The LP faction led by Apapa filed an ex-parte motion with the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1357/2023, requesting an order of temporary injunction to prevent INEC from recognizing or awarding recognition to any other candidate vying for the party’s governorship ticket in the Imo State governorship election on November 12th, save Chief Ukaegbu Joseph, the winner of the faction’s primary poll on April 16.
It also asked the court for an order of mandatory injunction, requiring INEC to accept Ukaegbu Joseph as the legitimate candidate for governor of Imo State and to upload his name as the party’s flagbearer.
In addition, the applicant sought an order from INEC mandating that Apapa be listed as the party’s National Chairman and Alhaji Lawal Saleh as its National Secretary. Without waiting to hear from INEC, which was named as the only defendant in the case, Justice Ekwo refused to issue the orders as requested after listening to the faction’s lawyer.
“I will not be granting your application today. You must bring INEC before the court to present its case,” the judge ordered.
Recall that the LP’s Apapa-led faction and the Julius Abure-led group, who conducted the primary poll that resulted in Mr Peter Obi being the party’s nominee for president in the most recent election, had been engaged in a long leadership struggle.