Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra Central, has revealed that the Supreme Court has ended Julius Abure’s tenure as national chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
Gatekeepers News reports that while speaking on Prime Time, a programme on Arise News on Wednesday, Umeh said the Supreme Court restored LP to the position originally assigned by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The senator noted that INEC had before the court’s ruling, stopped recognising Abure and party officials elected with him, having determined that their tenure had expired.
He said, “Before this matter went to court, you have to understand that INEC had taken a position on the leadership of Labour Party had expired and ceased to deal with them as officers of the Labour Party.”
“They started recognising Julius Abure as national chairman, with his team based on court order and those court orders, the trial court and the court of appeal have been set aside. So, the orders directing INEC to recognise Abure as national chairman of Labour Party have been set aside by the Supreme Court.”
“What it means is that we have now been returned to the position where INEC rightly determined as the monitor and regulator of political parties that their tenure has ceased to exist and the party has taken some steps to fill the vacuum.”
“If you read the concluding pages of this judgement, you will see where the Supreme Court summarised their findings on the appeal by saying that the order made by the two courts below directing that Julius Abure should be recognised as the national chairman of Labour Party is hereby set aside. It means that he should no longer be recognised as the chairman of Labour Party.”
Umeh added that before the case was taken to the apex court, where Abure had secured favourable judgments from the lower courts, which temporarily reinstated his position.
He said, “Prior to the matter coming to the Supreme Court, Abure was recognised as national chairman of the Labour Party by the orders made by the two courts below. Before then, he was not recognised as the chairman because his tenure had expired. He went to court and the court found in his favour, the trial court and the court of appeal.”
“On further appeal by Nenadi Usman and the secretary on behalf of the national caretaker committee, the supreme court set aside the order made in his favour. He filed a cross appeal, the supreme court dismissed his cross appeal.”
The senator further questioned those insisting that the status quo remains unchanged, saying, “How can you now come and begin to say the state of affairs still remain the same?”
He added, “We have filled the vacuum by creating the national caretaker committee because we are human beings. Nature abhors vacuum.”
