The high court ordered INEC to recognise Abure as the legitimate chairman of LP.
By Saidu Idris
365Daily – A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared Julius Abure as the substantive national chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, Justice Emeka Nwite affirmed the Abure-led leadership, while also recognising the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced Abure and other executives of the party.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier claimed that the LP’s national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, violated the Nigerian Constitution and Electoral Act and failed to meet legal requirements.
It stated this while responding to a lawsuit filed by the LP challenging its exclusion from INEC’s refresher training for uploading party agents ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
It claimed that Abure’s tenure as LP chairman expired in June 2024 and therefore, it could not recognise him as the party’s national chairman.
However, in its Tuesday judgment, the high court ordered INEC to recognise Abure as the legitimate chairman of the LP, thereby overturning INEC’s earlier rejection of the Abure-led leadership.
Justice Nwite, citing convincing and verifiable documents, stated, “The plaintiff has proved his case. I hereby make an order compelling the defendant to accord the plaintiff’s political party under the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure all the rights and privileges accorded a political party duly registered in Nigeria.”