Supreme Court gives verdict on Labour Party national chairmanship tussle

Supreme Court gives verdict on Labour Party national chairmanship tussle

  • The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal declaring Julius Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party
  • According to the Supreme Court, the appellate court did not have the legal standing to rule on the matter, adding that the party leadership crisis remained an internal affair
  • The chairmanship of Abure is being challenged by some members of the Labour Party, in which both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in Abuja have declared him authentic

FCT, Abuja - The Supreme Court has given a verdict on the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party. The apex court dismissed the ruling of the Court of Appeal that recognised Julius Abure as the party's national chairman.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, in a judgment on Friday, April 4, ruled that the Court of Appeal did not have the legal standing to pronounce Julius Abure as the Labour Party national chairman owing to the fact that the substance of the suit was about the leadership of the party.

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The Supreme Court has said that the judgment of the Court of Appeal that affirmed Julius Abure as Labour Party national chairman is wrong.
The Supreme Court has set aside the Court of Appeal judgment that affirmed Julius Abure as Labour Party national chairman Photo Credit: @NgLabour
Source: Twitter

Why Supreme Court dismissed Appeal Court judgment

It then explained that the issue of leadership remained an internal affair of the political parties and that the courts did not have jurisdiction over it. The court ruled that the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other were meritorious.

On Friday, January 17, the Court of Appeal declared Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party. The Court of Appeal, which was presided over by Honourable Justice Hamma Akawu Barka gave the judgment.

The appellate court reaffirmed its earlier judgement of 13th of November, 2024 in Appeal Number CA/Abj/CV/1172/2024 between Labour Party (Appellant) against Chief Olusola Nehemiah Ebiseni and INEC (Respondents) to make the declaration.

When Court of Appeal ruled in Abure's favour

The LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, January 17, via the party’s X handle (formerly known as Twitter) @NgLabour.

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Justice Barka ruled that the two appeals heard today (1) Senator Esther Nenadi Usman & others V Labour Party & others (CA/ABJ/CA/1217//2024 (2) INEC V Labour Party (CA/Abj/CV/1232/2024) could not determine the leadership of the Labour Party.

The court explained that the appeals emanated from an incompetent suit as the trial Court lacked jurisdiction to determine the leadership of the Labour Party and therefore a mere academic exercise.

According to the state, the Court ordered those who appealed and the general public to respect the earlier judgment which affirmed Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

Julius Abure won at high court

Legit.ng recalls that Abure emerged victorious at the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in October 2024.

The court on Tuesday ruled on LP's leadership tussle, in favour of Abure and his executive members. In a ruling delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, the court ordered INEC to recognise Abure as the Labour Party national chairman.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
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Bada Yusuf (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Yusuf Amoo Bada is an accomplished writer with 7 years of experience in journalism and writing, he is also politics and current affairs editor with Legit.ng. He holds B.A in Literature from OAU, and Diploma in Mass Comm. He has obtained certificates in Google's Advance Digital Reporting, News Lab workshop. He previously worked as an Editor with OperaNews. Legit’s Best Editor of the Year for Politics and Current Affairs Desk (2023). Contact: bada.yusuf.amoo@corp.legit.ng