Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has berated the former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, over the continued sale of governorship nomination forms to aspirants despite the Independent National Electoral Commission’s opposition to his leadership.
A viral photograph had shown Abure presenting Labour Party nomination form to a former National Vice Chairman of the party, Ceekay Igara, alongside other party members.
But Otti, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Ukoha Ukoha, in an interview with Sunday NGGOSSIPS, questioned Abure’s authority to continue acting in that capacity.
He insisted that both court rulings and INEC’s recognition of the party’s leadership structure had rendered Abure’s actions questionable.
According to Ukoha, Abure is acting against subsisting judicial pronouncements, adding that the Labour Party had already moved on from his leadership.
He stated, “I think Abure is in a better position to explain the grounds on which he is still parading himself after a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled that senator Nenadi Usman was the interim leader of the Labour Party before the convention. So, the party has moved on. INEC has also complied with the directive of a competent court of jurisdiction. That is contempt of court on the part of Julius Abure.”
The governor’s spokesperson further stated that INEC could not legitimately monitor any electoral process conducted under Abure’s authority, and that the electoral body had already aligned with the court-backed leadership structure.
“It is up to Abure to explain to Nigerians why he is issuing nomination forms against the order of a competent court,” he stated.
However, Igara, who confirmed receiving the forms in an interview with our correspondent, said the move was part of ongoing preparations ahead of pending judicial determinations affecting the party.
He explained that stakeholders were acting cautiously to avoid a vacuum in the event of a final court decision on the party’s leadership tussle.
Igara said, “We have two matters, one at the Supreme Court and the other at the Federal High Court. If we say Abure should be docile, all the 33 states that conducted congresses will just go into extinction. If the Supreme Court later gives him the structure and primaries have closed, what happens?”
He added that the forms were only being distributed ahead of primaries that had yet to take place, stressing that internal consultations were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, findings by Sunday NGGOSSIPS showed that INEC currently recognises Usman as the Labour Party chairman.
Efforts to reach Abure for comment were unsuccessful as calls and messages to his phone were not returned at the time of filing this report.
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has berated the former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, over the continued sale of governorship nomination forms to aspirants despite the Independent National Electoral Commission’s opposition to his leadership.
A viral photograph had shown Abure presenting Labour Party nomination form to a former National Vice Chairman of the party, Ceekay Igara, alongside other party members.
But Otti, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Ukoha Ukoha, in an interview with Sunday NGGOSSIPS, questioned Abure’s authority to continue acting in that capacity.
He insisted that both court rulings and INEC’s recognition of the party’s leadership structure had rendered Abure’s actions questionable.
According to Ukoha, Abure is acting against subsisting judicial pronouncements, adding that the Labour Party had already moved on from his leadership.
He stated, “I think Abure is in a better position to explain the grounds on which he is still parading himself after a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled that senator Nenadi Usman was the interim leader of the Labour Party before the convention. So, the party has moved on. INEC has also complied with the directive of a competent court of jurisdiction. That is contempt of court on the part of Julius Abure.”
The governor’s spokesperson further stated that INEC could not legitimately monitor any electoral process conducted under Abure’s authority, and that the electoral body had already aligned with the court-backed leadership structure.
“It is up to Abure to explain to Nigerians why he is issuing nomination forms against the order of a competent court,” he stated.
However, Igara, who confirmed receiving the forms in an interview with our correspondent, said the move was part of ongoing preparations ahead of pending judicial determinations affecting the party.
He explained that stakeholders were acting cautiously to avoid a vacuum in the event of a final court decision on the party’s leadership tussle.
Igara said, “We have two matters, one at the Supreme Court and the other at the Federal High Court. If we say Abure should be docile, all the 33 states that conducted congresses will just go into extinction. If the Supreme Court later gives him the structure and primaries have closed, what happens?”
He added that the forms were only being distributed ahead of primaries that had yet to take place, stressing that internal consultations were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, findings by Sunday NGGOSSIPS showed that INEC currently recognises Usman as the Labour Party chairman.
Efforts to reach Abure for comment were unsuccessful as calls and messages to his phone were not returned at the time of filing this report.
