Peter Obi’s presidential bid at risk as LP faction heads to court

 

A federal high court in Abuja has ordered that the Labour Party and some of its executives be served with a fresh suit challenging the party’s leadership.

 

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, gave the order on Monday while ruling on an ex parte motion filed by Calistus Okafor, a former deputy national chairman of the party.

 

Ekwo ordered a “substituted service of the originating summons, interlocutory injunction, and all other processes in this suit on the 1st to 3rd, 6th to 12th and 14th defendants by pasting the said processes at their political party’s office, which is the 5th defendant’s office, located  at No 2, Oke Agbe Street, Off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki 11, Abuja”.

 

The court ordered that the service must be effected “within seven days of this order”.

 

The matter was then adjourned till June 30 “for further mention”.

 

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1636/2021, Okafor, who is a factional leader of the party, is challenging the legality of the leadership of Julius Abure and Akingbade Oyelakin, whom he said “represents persons wrongfully and unlawfully parading themselves as members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of Labour Party”.

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is joined as the fourth defendant in the suit.

 

Umar Farouq, secretary of the party, was included as the second defendant and other defendants are members of the committee set up by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to take over the affairs of the party.

 

The committee members are listed as Salisu Mohammed, Lawson Osagie, Isa Aremu, Baba Aye, Ikpe Ektokudo, Sylvester Ejiofor, and Lucy Offiong.

 

The NLC is also listed as a defendant in the suit.

 

Meanwhile, the development comes days after Peter Obi, a presidential hopeful, joined the Labour Party after resigning his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

 

On Monday, Obi was elected as the presidential candidate of the LP after three other aspirants stepped down for him.