BREAKING: Appeal Court sacks Abure, affirms Apapa as LP National Chairman

The Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State, on Thursday, sacked Julius Abure, and recognised Lamido Apapa as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise and publish the names of all the governorship candidates produced by the Apapa-led National Working Committee (NWC) in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states.

The court also dismissed Senator Athan Achonu, the governorship candidate of Imo State and others from the Abure-led faction of the Labour Party.

In April, Apapa said his suspension as a member of the party was invalid, noting that he remained the ‘legitimate acting chairman.’

On August 14, the PUNCH reported that a Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State capital, affirmed Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh.

Prior to this, on May 26, The PUNCH reported that a State High Court sitting in Edo dismissed the notice of suspension issued against Abure by some party members at the ward level. The judge, Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, threw out the case for lacking merit.