Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday, dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify the Edo State Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata, from the upcoming governorship election scheduled for 21 September.
In a unanimous judgment, a three-member
panel of the appellate court held that the suit instituted by Kenneth
Imasuangbon failed to utilise the Labour Party’s internal conflict resolution
mechanism before proceeding to court.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice
Okon Abang, the court ruled that the suit lacked cogent and verifiable evidence
against the respondent.
The court further stated that Imasuangbon’s
allegations that the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association did not
sign the Indemnity Form were statute-barred and
outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Abang noted, “The appeal was premature in law and
cannot be entertained on the ground that the necessary conditions precedent
were not met.”
He also pointed out that the appellant
failed to present the disputed results of the party’s 23 February primary
election, which he claimed to have won.
The court ruled that Imasuangbon’s claim,
that he was not provided official results by the Labour Party, was untenable
because his agent was present at the primary election.
Additionally, the appellate court faulted
Imasuangbon for not calling any witnesses or delegates from those who allegedly
voted for him at the primary election.
As a result, the court upheld the judgment
of the Federal High Court in Benin City, delivered by Justice Babatunde
Quadiri, which dismissed Imasuangbon’s suit for lack of merit.
In his suit filed before the lower court in
Benin, Imasuangbon sought to disqualify Akpata as the Labour Party’s
governorship candidate, claiming that Akpata was not qualified to participate
in the election. He also prayed for an order compelling the Labour Party to
withdraw Akpata’s candidacy and replace him with Imasuangbon, who claimed to
have come second in the primary election.
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