LP Crisis Takes New Dimension As Lamidi Apapa Makes Fresh Announcement After Appeal Court Ruling

The leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) has taken a new dimension, following a fresh announcement by Bashiru Lamidi Apapa, who claims to be the party’s Authentic national chairman.

According to The Vanguard reports, Apapa made the announcement on Thursday, August 24, shortly after the Court of Appeal in Abuja nullified the appointment of Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman.

The Court of Appeal on Thursday sacked the Julius Abure-led faction and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize governorship candidates produced by Apapa’s faction for the elections scheduled for November 11, 2023.

Apapa, while speaking during a press conference in Abuja shortly after the court’s declaration, declared that only candidates approved by him can feature in the November 11 Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo governorship elections

He said: “You will recall that on April 5, the FCT High court restrained Abure and others from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

“As a result, the party appointed the Deputy National Chairman Alhaji Lamidi Apapa as the acting national chairman of the party pursuant to its constitution.

“Sequel to that the party under my leadership wrote to INEC changing its date of primary election earlier scheduled by Abure from April 15 to April 16.

“Notwithstanding the fact that he was under a restraining order, Abure still went ahead to conduct his primaries for Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa on those dates,” he said.

Apapa said that on the other hand, his faction conducted primaries on April 16 making it two primaries conducted by the LP in the states.

“Peeved by the primary conducted by me, a candidate who participated in the Abure primary took my candidate to court whilst maintaining that Abure’s candidates were the authentic ones.

“The case was frantically defended, and the Federal High court, Owerri Division, declared the primaries conducted by me as the authentic candidate as Abure was under a restraining order as at the time he screened candidates and conducted his primaries,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Julius Abure and Lamidi Apapa-led factions of the Labour Party (LP) have clashed over the fresh ruling of the Appeal Court in Owerri.

Recall that a Court of Appeal in Benin City, Edo State capital, on Monday affirmed Abure as the authentic national chairman of the party.

In his lead judgment, Justice Abadua affirmed the decision of the High Court of Edo State and held that one man could not suspend the party’s national chairman in line with Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution of the Party and the extant Electoral Act of 2022.

However, supporters from both factions have bickered concerning the fresh court judgment.

While the Apapa-led faction insists the court sacked Abure, the Abure-led section claims the ruling says otherwise.

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