Apapa’s faction suffers setback in bid to stop Labour Party’s candidate for Imo election

At the Federal High Court in Abuja, the effort by the Lamidi Apapa’s group to prevent the Labour Party’s candidate, Athan Achonu, from running in Saturday’s Governorship election in Imo State was soundly defeated.

The contentious Labour Party faction’s attempt to have their candidate disqualified from the governor’s race was denied by the court.

Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled against the ex-parte application to prevent Achonu from running in the election, despite the fact that the application was argued by Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN and a member of the faction’s legal team.

Instead of accepting Apapa’s request, Justice Ekwo ruled that he and the other members of his group must give the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC notice of the lawsuit so that it can prepare a defense.

The faction had filed an ex-parte application with the case number FCH/ABJ/CS/1357/2023, asking for an interim injunction to prevent INEC from recognizing or giving recognition to anyone other than Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph, the winner of the Apapa-led primary election on April 16, 2023, for the gubernatorial ticket of the party in Imo State for the upcoming November 11 election.

The group also requested that INEC be ordered to post Ukaegbu Joseph’s name as the legitimate gubernatorial and party flagbearer in Imo State.

The group also requested that Lamidi Apapa be made the party’s national chairman and Lawal Saleh its national secretary on the INEC website.

After hearing the attorney’s arguments, Justice Ekwo ruled that he would not grant the ex-parte motion and instead instructed the faction to file a move on notice against INEC, the only defendant in the case.

The judge replied, “I am not giving you this application now and you have to call INEC to Court to appear and explain its own side in this subject.

To give Apapa’s faction time to air its objections and INEC time to counterargue, the judge has set a further mention in the matter for November 10.