Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo State, the Labour Party (LP) Senator Athan Nneji Achonu has called on the people to work for him.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Achonu, who reacted to a Supreme Court judgement affirming his candidacy of the Labour Party and the leadership of the party under Barr Julius Abure, said even though the court case which was not about him was a distraction, added that he was busy carrying out his campaign.
The Supreme Court judgement had dismissed an appeal brought before it by Basil Maduka against the Labour Party over its candidate in the Imo state governorship election on the ground of locus standi.
A panel of five justices led by Iyang Okoro also rebuked the appellant for abusing court process and wasting the time of the courts all through from the lower courts.
Two other respondents in the matter were Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and the Lamidi Apapa led candidate, Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, whose request to seek for a consequential order was also rejected by the Supreme Court.
Reacting however, Achonu said, “With this, I want to call on the people of Imo State to remove all doubt and work for our success.
“I won a free and fair primary contest. I’ve been concentrating on my campaign. I want to make it clear to the Imo people that I am the candidate of the Labour Party and they should continue to campaign for me.
“I am making this call to the Imo people to come out and campaign and take back their state because of the distractions some people created.
“It is a simple matter that people can just call INEC and confirm the authentic person that is the candidate.
“Some people went to the Federal High Court, their case was thrown out. They went for an appeal and the same thing happened. They went to the Supreme Court and the case has finally been thrown out. Their cases have all been dismissed. They are seeking to confuse Imo people,” Achonu said.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party said the Supreme Court judgement has killed the plot by the Lamidi Apapa-led camp to hijack the party, including the powers to nominate candidates has finally come to an end.
Speaking to the media shortly after the judgment, the counsel to the Labour Party, Barrister Okwudili Anozie, said, “Today at the Supreme Court, the antics of Basil Maduka and his accomplice Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, was put to an end as they met their Waterloo at the Apex Court.
“Today was a culmination of their deceit and lies to Imolites spanning from their misrepresentation of the true position of the judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
“Upon the exposure and collapse of their lies before the Supreme Court today, Basil’s Counsel, with tails in between his legs, immediately withdrew his subterfuge appeal that was aimed at giving credence to Ukaegbu’s sham, non-existent primaries.
“The Supreme Court didn’t entertain Ukaegbu’s counsel’s ignorant attempt to seek for a consequential order, which even a first year student of law knows cannot be sought by a Respondent especially in this case where the appeal was dismissed.
“Indeed, today has been a day of reckoning for evil doers whose sole plan was to stop the aspiration of Imolites in their determination to Take Imo Back through Senator Athan Nneji Achonu,” LP said in a statement signed by their national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh.
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