Abuja court sacks Labour Party chair, others

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Abuja court sacks Labour Party chair, others

The Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered Julius Abure from parading himself as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

He was barred alongside the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu, over alleged forgery.

Justice Hamza Muazu also ordered that the originating processes of the court be served on Abure and others.

The order came a week after a ward in the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party suspended Abure over alleged anti-party activities.

At a press conference, the ward chairman, Martins Osigbemhe, said Abure was suspended by the executive, pending the determination of the numerous petitions and cases against him in courts.

But the National Secretary of the party, Mallam Farouk Umar, dismissed the suspension as illegal.

“They also made some spurious allegations against him, which are untrue and concocted by the sponsors of the press conference. We, however, deemed it fit to make some responses.

“The young men we saw on those visuals are apparently not anybody from the Labour Party in Edo State, as claimed. The executives of the party in the state, local government and my ward are well known to the party.

“None of them were at the press conference. We make bold to say that they are people assembled and rented from some Abuja slums and paid to read a prepared speech given to them,” Umar said.

However, the judge held that the ex parte application for an interim injunction restraining the four officials by aggrieved members of the LP before the court had merit and granted the same.

Justice Muazu made “an order of interim injunction restraining the 1st to 4th defendants, their agents, privies, servants, employees and representatives’ whatsoever and howsoever described from parading themselves as the National Chairman, National Secretary, National Treasurer and National Organising Secretary of the 5th Defendant pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.”

The application was brought by Martins Esikpali John O., Lucky Shaibu, Isah Zekeri, Omogbai Frank, Abkhaiu Aliu, Ayohkaire Lateef, Job Elomah and Dr Abayomi Arabambi through their lawyer, James Onoja (SAN).

All efforts made to reach Abure; LP’s National Secretary, Umar Farouk; Director General of Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun and National Youth Leader, Kennedy Ahanotu, proved abortive.

As of the time of filing this story, none of them returned the calls or replied the sms sent to their lines by our correspondent.

But the Labour Party Chairman in Bayelsa State, Eneyi Zidongha, said the development was not good for the party.

He said, “It is a crisis or situation that can be managed if they can put things together immediately because there must be a reason they have taken it this far.”