Apapa: Obi’s Legal Team Careless Approach May Cost LP at Tribunal

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The Lamidi Apapa led-National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party, has raised fears that the party might have its petition thrown away by the Appeal Court for what it described as lame excuse by Peter Obi’s legal team to provide substantial evidence to back up their claims at the court.

They have also accused the Julius Abure-led NWC of hobnobbing with the APC adopted 10th Assembly’s Senate President,  Godswill Akpabio.

But in a swift reaction, Abure has dismissed the allegation, saying Akpabio only paid a visit to Labour Party secretariat to solicit support of the party for his Senate President ambition.

Abure also declared that he has resumed duty as the authentic National Chairman of the party, having appealed the charges against him and four others pending at an FCT High Court.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, the embattled National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi, raised the alarm over Labour Party’s inability to afford INEC’s fee of N1.5 million to obtain all the required documents from the Commission to prosecute their petition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

At the proceedings of 17th May, 2023, lead counsel to Obi, Mr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, complained of their inability to obtain some electoral documents from INEC in respect of Rivers and Sokoto States.

But lead counsel to INEC, Mr. Mahmud, SAN, drew the court’s attention to Mr. Uzoukwu’s letter, where Obi and the Labour Party expressed their inability to make the requisite statutory payments to INEC, for the issuance of the certified true copies of the said documents. 

Mahmud also drew the court’s attention to the fact that counsel to Labour Party and Obi also walked out of the meeting scheduled for the identification of relevant documents, thereby, stalling the progress of the proceedings.

In his reaction, Arabambi said, “Something happened at the election Tribunal yesterday, it is unfortunate that the lead lawyer, will write a letter to INEC that they did not have N1,500,000 to pay, knowing full well that the pre-hearing session would terminate on Sunday. That means if we fail to do the needful, our petition would be dismissed”

On the meeting between Abure and Akpabio, he said what transpired at the party’s national secretariat on Wednesday, had left them confused as to who between the PDP and APC, those who received Abure were working for.

“It’s either Peter Obi and Abure are working for PDP or they are working for APC. They accused our executive of collecting money from APC. Yesterday, Akpabio and the deputy chairman of the All progressive Congress went to visit them and they accepted him. They collected 500 million from them. Now, what is integrity? These are the people they took to court, yet, Abure entertained Akpabio who wants to be Senate President,” he said.

Meanwhile Abure has called on Nigerians to jettison the antics of the Apapa-led faction and its group, saying there was no faction in Labour Party.

Abure stated this at a press conference he personally addressed at the party’s national secretariat, where he declared that he has been reinstalled as the National Chairman of Labour Party following his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Apapa: Obi’s Legal Team Careless Approach May Cost LP at Tribunal

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The Lamidi Apapa led-National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party, has raised fears that the party might have its petition thrown away by the Appeal Court for what it described as lame excuse by Peter Obi’s legal team to provide substantial evidence to back up their claims at the court.

They have also accused the Julius Abure-led NWC of hobnobbing with the APC adopted 10th Assembly’s Senate President,  Godswill Akpabio.

But in a swift reaction, Abure has dismissed the allegation, saying Akpabio only paid a visit to Labour Party secretariat to solicit support of the party for his Senate President ambition.

Abure also declared that he has resumed duty as the authentic National Chairman of the party, having appealed the charges against him and four others pending at an FCT High Court.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, the embattled National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi, raised the alarm over Labour Party’s inability to afford INEC’s fee of N1.5 million to obtain all the required documents from the Commission to prosecute their petition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

At the proceedings of 17th May, 2023, lead counsel to Obi, Mr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, complained of their inability to obtain some electoral documents from INEC in respect of Rivers and Sokoto States.

But lead counsel to INEC, Mr. Mahmud, SAN, drew the court’s attention to Mr. Uzoukwu’s letter, where Obi and the Labour Party expressed their inability to make the requisite statutory payments to INEC, for the issuance of the certified true copies of the said documents. 

Mahmud also drew the court’s attention to the fact that counsel to Labour Party and Obi also walked out of the meeting scheduled for the identification of relevant documents, thereby, stalling the progress of the proceedings.

In his reaction, Arabambi said, “Something happened at the election Tribunal yesterday, it is unfortunate that the lead lawyer, will write a letter to INEC that they did not have N1,500,000 to pay, knowing full well that the pre-hearing session would terminate on Sunday. That means if we fail to do the needful, our petition would be dismissed”

On the meeting between Abure and Akpabio, he said what transpired at the party’s national secretariat on Wednesday, had left them confused as to who between the PDP and APC, those who received Abure were working for.

“It’s either Peter Obi and Abure are working for PDP or they are working for APC. They accused our executive of collecting money from APC. Yesterday, Akpabio and the deputy chairman of the All progressive Congress went to visit them and they accepted him. They collected 500 million from them. Now, what is integrity? These are the people they took to court, yet, Abure entertained Akpabio who wants to be Senate President,” he said.

Meanwhile Abure has called on Nigerians to jettison the antics of the Apapa-led faction and its group, saying there was no faction in Labour Party.

Abure stated this at a press conference he personally addressed at the party’s national secretariat, where he declared that he has been reinstalled as the National Chairman of Labour Party following his appeal at the Court of Appeal.