The Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State, has sacked Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party and recognized Lamido Apapa as the new chairman.
The Court of Appeal also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognize and publish the list of all the governorship candidates produced by the Lamido Apapa-led National Working Committee (NWC) in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states.
The court also dismissed the governorship candidature of Senator Athan Achonu of Imo State, and others belonging to the Abure’s Labour Party faction.
In April, Apapa maintained that his suspension from the party was null and void, and that he remained the legitimate acting chairman.
On August 14, reports have it that a Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State capital, affirmed Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party. This was was made known in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh.
A State High Court in Edo State dismissed a notice of suspension issued against Abure by some party members at the ward level on May 26. The judge, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, ruled that the case lacked merit.