The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has reaffirmed Julius Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a judgment delivered on Friday by Justice Hamma Barka, the three-member panel upheld its previous ruling on November 13, 2024, which had already declared Abure as the legitimate national chairman.
The court’s decision came in response to two separate appeals.
The first appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CA/1217//2024, saw Esther Nenadi Usman and others as appellants, with the Labour Party and other parties as respondents.
The second appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1232/2024, had the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the appellant and LP as the respondent.
Earlier, on November 13, 2024, the Appeal Court had ruled in favor of the Labour Party in a case involving Olusola Nehemiah Ebiseni and INEC, confirming that Abure remained the national chairman.
Justice Barka explained that the two appeals heard on Friday could not alter the decision on the LP’s leadership, as it had already been determined by the appellate court.
He added that both appeals arose from an incompetent suit, noting that the trial court, led by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Abuja Federal High Court, lacked jurisdiction to make a ruling on the leadership of the party. On October 8, 2024, the trial court had ordered INEC to recognize and engage with the Abure-led leadership.
In his ruling, Justice Barka emphasized that the leadership of a political party is an internal matter and not justiciable by the courts.
He further stated that the trial court’s judgment lacked jurisdiction and was, therefore, null and void. He set aside Justice Nwite’s judgment and struck out the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024 for lack of jurisdiction.
Justice Barka clarified that the leadership of the LP had already been determined in the court’s November 13, 2024 ruling, which affirmed Abure as the national chairman.
The judge urged all parties and the public to respect the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had already confirmed Abure’s position as LP’s national chairman.
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