The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has been upheld as the validly elected chairman of the party by a State High Court in Edo State. The ruling by Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje dismisses the notice of suspension issued to Abure by some party members at the ward level.
The ruling also bars Lamidi Apapa and his faction from parading themselves as executives of the Labour Party. The judgment comes as a sigh of relief for the executives of LP Ward 3 in Esan North East, Edo State, who had filed a suit to challenge the suspension notice against Abure.
According to Justice Aihamaje, the ward’s executive lacks the power to remove the national chairman of the party under the Labour Party Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended.
The dispute started in March when a ward in the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party suspended Abure, resulting in a leadership crisis. Obiora Ifoh, the party’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, expressed his satisfaction with the High Court verdict and described it as the end of a charade.
With this ruling, Abure can continue his term as the party’s National Chairman, while Apapa’s faction has been effectively disbanded.
