The Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, has been re-elected for another term in office on a day an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court refused to stop Abure from conducting the party’s national convention.
Abure got the unanimous support of the party’s delegates at the national convention held on Wednesday in Nnewi, Anambra State.
The Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu, announced the outcome of the exercise to the delight of the party’s supporters at the venue.
Emetu is also the chairman of the LP national convention committee.
Abure, has been at loggerheads with the Joe Ajaero-led leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
A member of the party, Chief Chidozie Ezeugwa, and three others had approached the court to stop the convention.
The other defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/383/2024 include Umar Farouk Ibrahim, Clement Ojukwu, Labour Party and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as second to fifth defendants, respectively.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/383/2024, the plaintiffs urged the court to grant an interlocutory injunction restraining the respondents from conducting the LP convention, among other reliefs.
In the motion ex parte dated March 20 but filed March 22 by Christ N., Ezeugwa sought three orders.
These include an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants jointly and severally from taking steps or any further step in conducting the planned national convention of his party “at Umuahia, Abia state, Nigeria, or any other venue whatsoever called anywhere in Nigeria on 27th day of March 2024 or any other date whatsoever until the hearing and determinations of originating process herein.”
He also sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining INEC “from attending the unilateral planned national convention of the plaintiff party (Labour Party)” at the venue and date until the hearing, determinations of the originating process, among others.
In the affidavit he personally deposed to, Mr Ezeugwa averred that he was a card-carrying member of the Labour Party, paid all the dues, and qualified to attend all its meetings, including the national convention.
He said he was aware of the terms of the settlement between the party and the Nigeria Labour Congress, which prevented the party from holding a national convention in March 2024.
He said the unilateral group’s issuance of the letter to review the earlier date fixed for the national convention backwards was intended to frustrate members like him, among others, from attending the convention.
Instead, the trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling, ordered the plaintiff, Chidozie Ezeugwa, to put all the defendants on notice of the ex parte application moved by his lawyer, Ammeh Ammeh.
“I have studied the motion ex-parte, the prayers sought therein and the averments in the affidavit in support, it is my opinion that this is not an application to be granted without hearing the other side.
“Therefore, I make an order for the applicant to put the defendants on notice of the ex-parte application forthwith and also for applicant to serve the respondents all processes filed in this suit within two days of this order,” the judge said.
The judge thereafter ordered the defendants to show cause on the next date why the applicant’s application ought not to be granted.
The matter was then adjourned until April 4 for Mr Abure and others to show cause.
