-O. Adejo
The Labour Party and its executives have been served with a fresh suit by a Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the party’s leadership.
The order was given on Monday by a presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo while ruling on an ex parte motion filed by a former deputy national chairman of the party, Calistus Okafor.
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, 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.
This development comes a few days after presidential candidate Peter Obi won the party ticket to contest the Presidency on the platform.
Factional Crisis Rocks Labour Party, Jeopardise Peter Obi’s Candidacy