By Adesina Soyooye
The National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, LP, has put a lie to the claims and news story which made the rounds on Friday that the Court of Appeal has reaffirmed embattled Barrister Julius Abure as National Chairman.
On Friday, media space was awash with the ruling which, purportedly, was favourable to Abure and his Executive in a case to sort out the leadership crisis rocking the Party.
Recall that in the heat of the crisis, its Presidential Candidate in the 2023 Election, Peter Obi, and its only State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, had, at a meeting in Umuahia, Abia State, hosted by Otti, set up a Caretaker Committee, headed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman to stabilise the Party and organize a credible convention which will usher in a new National Executive.
The action, effectively, sacked the crisis-prone Abure Executive which had been accused of sundry misdemeanors including alleged corruption. But Abure and co. had proceded to a Federal High Court in Abuja presided by the Honourable Justice Emeka Nwite where they got positive judgement on 8th October, 2024. That prompted an appeal by the Senator Usman-led Caretaker Committee.
On Friday, January,17,2025, the media space was awash with the news of a Court of Appeal ruling in favour of Abure and his status as National Chairman of the Party.
However, on Saturday, the Leadership of the Caretaker Committee in a statement signed by Senator Usman as Chairman, and Senator Darlington Nwaokocha as Secretary, put a lie to the Abure-victory claim.
Contrary to that, the statement said, the ruling by the Court of Appeal “unreservedly, allowed its appeal against the earlier judgement by a Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
Following, the full text of the statement which confirms that the Caretaker Committee headed by Senator Usman is still in charge of the Labour Party, LP.
JUDGMENT IN APPEAL NO: CA/ABJ/CV/1217/2024; SEN. NENADI ESTHER USMAN & ANOR v. LABOUR PARTY & ANOR
As the duly recognized National Caretaker Committee Chairman and Secretary of the Labour Party, we, on behalf of ourselves and other members of the National Caretaker Committee, deem it necessary to issue this Press Release to clarify and set the records straight.
Firstly, today, 17th January 2025, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Abuja Division, in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1217/2024; SEN. NENADI ESTHER USMAN & ANOR v. LABOUR PARTY & ANOR, unreservedly allowed our appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, delivered on 8th October 2024 by Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite.
In its judgment delivered today, the Court of Appeal upheld the following:
- Lack of Jurisdiction: The Court of Appeal affirmed that Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, filed before the Federal High Court by Barr. Julius Abure, was a leadership dispute, over which the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction.
- Error by the Federal High Court: The Federal High Court erred and acted without jurisdiction by entertaining the leadership dispute brought before it by Barr. Julius Abure.
- Violation of Fair Hearing: The Federal High Court violated our right to fair hearing by failing to consider our Counter-Affidavit filed in opposition to the suit before it.
Accordingly, the Court of Appeal struck out the suit filed before the Federal High Court for lack of jurisdiction.
It is important to address the erroneous and unsolicited finding by the Court of Appeal that, in a judgment it delivered on 13th November 2024 in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024; LABOUR PARTY v. OLUSOLA EBISENI & ORS, Julius Abure was “admitted as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.” This finding is completely inconsistent with the substantive judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal.
For clarity, the judgment delivered on 13th November 2024 in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 pertains to the nomination of a Governorship Candidate for the Ondo State Governorship Election. It has no connection whatsoever to the leadership dispute, which was the crux of the instant suit.
Furthermore, we reiterate the established legal principle in Nigeria that courts lack jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of political parties, including leadership and management issues. Therefore, we commend the Court of Appeal for upholding the position that the leadership dispute in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024 is non-justiciable and outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Finally, we wish to remind the public that on 4th September 2024, the Labour Party constituted a National Caretaker Committee, appointing the undersigned, Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, as the National Caretaker Committee Chairman, and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as the National Caretaker Committee Secretary. Both have been diligently and effectively carrying out their duties to the admiration of stakeholders and the entire membership of the party.
Signed:
SEN. NENADI ESTHER USMAN
National Caretaker Committee Chairman
SEN. DARLINGTON NWOKOCHA
National Caretaker Committee Secretary
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
