The Labour Party seems to be delving deeper into post-election crisis after two different courts in Edo State and in Abuja gave two conflicting orders on whether the national chairman of the party, Barr Julius Abure, and some other officials can continue to hold their positions.
While the court in Benin restrained Abure and others from being removed pending the determination of the case, the Abuja court stopped them from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
Yesterday, Justice Hamza Muazu of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, had granted an order stopping Julius Abure; the national secretary, Farouk Ibrahim; the national organising secretary, Clement Ojukwu, and one other person from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
The court made the order in Abuja while ruling in an ex-parte application argued by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Chief James Ogwu Onoja.
Mr Onoja had, in the application, informed the court how the restrained national officers allegedly forged several documents of the FCT High Court, Abuja, to carry out unlawful substitutions in the last general elections. Among the documents were the receipts, seal and affidavits of the court to carry out criminal activities.
The senior lawyer, who tendered several documents, told the judge that the chief registrar of the court had written the Labour Party to disown several documents used for the alleged criminal activities by Abure and three others.
Onoja said that following their indictment by a police investigation, the four people are to be arraigned in court and that warrants for their arrest had already been obtained.
In a brief ruling, Justice Muazu held that the application and the supporting affidavits made a good case for the request to be granted. He subsequently ordered that the four people should immediately stop parading themselves as national officers of the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, the national secretary of the Labour Party, Umar Farouk, yesterday revealed that the State High Court sitting in Benin had yesterday restrained Labour Party and all its members from any suspension or purported suspension of its national officers till the determination of the motion on notice.
The secretary said the Labour Party’s lawyer, G. C. Igbokwe (SAN), had confirmed to journalists that he had got a High Court order that status quo is maintained and that no action should proceed which may result in the suspension of any national officer of the party.
The party quoted the senior advocate to have said: “Our attention has been drawn to a latter order purportedly from another court of equal jurisdiction restraining my clients. Of course, such order is of no consequence and will have no effect until after the determination of the motion on notice.”
LEADERSHIP recalls that the entire leadership of Labour Party in Edo State, including the state, local government and ward executives, had Monday passed a vote of confidence on Abure, who was allegedly suspended by a factional group of the party.
The party recalled that some persons, who claimed to be ward executives of the party in Edo State, led by the ward’s chairman, Martins Osigbemhe, had earlier announced the suspension of the LP national chairman.
However, in a solidarity visit to Barrister Abure at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, the chapters said the Osigbemhe faction was unknown to the party and was working for opposition political parties.
Mr Kelly Ogbaloi, chairman of the Edo State chapter of the party, told newsmen that the constitution of the party did not empower any group or party members to suspend a national officer.
Ogbaloi said that since Abure was elected by a national convention, “imposters who are not registered party members cannot suspend him, so their action is out of ignorance. Those who did it don’t even understand the message they were asked to deliver.” No date has been fixed for hearing.
Ebonyi LP Governorship Candidate Accuses Abure Of Forgery
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Ebonyi State, Mr. Eze Oko, has accused the national chairman, Julius Abure, of alleged forgery and conspiracy that led to Oko’s replacement a few days to the March 18 gubernatorial election.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Oko alleged that in the heat of political activities leading to the governorship election in Ebonyi State, the national chairman initiated moves to illegally remove him as the governorship candidate with an alleged forged withdrawal letter submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Oko stated that the foregoing had led to a series of forensic investigations by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that found Abure guilty of the alleged crimes.
He also called for the arrest of the national chairman, stating that evidence from the NPF and courts’ statements were against him.
He, therefore, called on the Labour Party National Executive Council (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) to initiate disciplinary action against Abure and others indicted by the Nigeria Police Investigation forthwith with an indefinite suspension.
According to him: “From investigation conducted so far, a prima facie case of conspiracy and forgery has been established against the suspects as the forensic experts have confirmed that the party submitted a withdrawal letter that was forged.
“However, some of the suspects have vehemently refused to report in order to exercise their right to fair hearing despite writing them four different letters.”
He said this in itself is an affront to constituted authority as well as a blatant disregard for law and order.
He said that the vehement refusal of the national chairman, national secretary and national treasurer of the Labour Party to report for an interview had prompted the procurement of warrants of arrest to compel their appearances to enable the conclusion of the investigation in public interest.
Part of Oko’s deposition reads: “That whereas Barr Julius Abure and others were accused of forging the signature of one Mr Eze Oko, the actual winner of June 9, 2022 governorship primary in Ebonyi State and replacing him with one Nkwegu Edward Okereke as the governorship candidate of the party in the state with forged withdrawal letters and sworn court affidavits on oath, which were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
“Abure’s forgery and perjury against authentic Labour Party candidates through illegal substitution of their names without their voluntary withdrawal, etc, and subject to the evidence of non-applicability of the police report of indictment and Court Warrant of arrest against Abure and some other National Working Committee members.
“Abure’s indulgence in gross anti-party activities with the opposition APC and PDP that led to the failure of the Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential, and some national and state elections through unlawful association and proclamations against labour party candidates.”
Among other things, Oko added that Abure’s inability and refusal to mobilise funds for the state’s LP chairmen led to deficiency in providing over 42,000 polling units agents to INEC in the 25th February, 2023 Presidential Election which frustrate Peter Obi’s efforts to win the election.
He made further accusations against the LP chairman: “Abure’s illegal suspension of members of the Labour Party National Working Committee, NWC, without the approval of the National Executive Council, NEC, by 2/3 majority votes cast.
“Abure’s illegal diversion of Labour Party monies into his private company’s bank account from the sales of forms for the 2023 general election, thereby necessitating the EFCC’s urgent intervention to probe his accounts and those of the Labour Party.
“Abure’s unconstitutional and illegal extortion of monies from all Labour Party 2023 candidates through criminal enrichment of self with Labour Party fund to the tune of over N2,000,000,000 used for acquisition of properties in Abuja, Edo State, purchase of Jeeps and luxury cars in a grand display of opulence and wealth and criminal enrichment of family members.”
