By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA- The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, affirmed Mr. Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP.

The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to accord the LP under Abure’s leadership, all the rights and privileges accorded a political party duly registered in Nigeria.

It equally ordered INEC to perform its lawful duty by conducting a refresher training for the upload of LP’s agents into the INEC portal and to issue the plaintiff (Abure) the Access Code required to access INEC’s portal for the Ondo Governorship Election scheduled to hold on 16th November 2024.

The judgement followed a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, which was brought before the court by Abure.

The INEC was listed as the sole defendant in the matter.

Specifically, Abure, in an affidavit he deposed to in support of the suit, told the court that following the death of the National Chairman of the LP, he was lawfully elected as the Acting National Chairman of the party at a National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the party that held in Benin City, Edo State, on March 29, 2021.

He told the court that on April 18, 2023, at the NEC meeting of the party held in Asaba, Delta State and duly monitored by INEC, it was resolved that the tenures of State Chairmen whose tenures had expired, be renewed.

He said it was at the same meeting that some members who were engaged in anti-party activities were expelled and replacements for vacant positions were created as a result of the expulsion, done.

Abure averred that in line with a consensus that was reached at the meeting, the party subsequently held its National Convention on March 27, 2024, at Nnewi, Anambra State, where we were lawfully elected to the office of National Chairman of the LP.

He said the party under his leadership produced candidates for governorship elections in both Edo and Ondo states.

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MImo state government has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to instigate violence in the state on account of the just concluded local government election.

The state Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Hon Declan Mbadiwe disclosed that credible information at its behest indicated that PDP in the state wants to borrow a leaf from the recent violence in Rivers State against newly sworn in local government chairmen and councillors.

Emelumba said it was too much of a coincidence that just 24 hours after the Rivers violence, PDP in a statement on Tuesday warned elected local government chairmen in Imo state to steer clear of the council Secretariats in the 27 LGAs.

The Commissioner argued that such a warning was ominous and portends danger, and therefore demanded the immediate attention of the security agencies.

According to him, while PDP was free to rant and accuse the state of all unimaginable and unsubstantiated financial crimes, the threat of violence was not going to be tolerated.

He noted that it has been a while that the local government chairmen were sworn in after a successful election and wondered why PDP was threatening them just 24 hours after the violence in Rivers State.

” If you went through their incoherent and contradictory statement of Tuesday, October 8,2024, you will come out with the impression that they want to employ self help in addressing their colossal loss during the local government electiion. They said their candidates ought to be declared winners and in the same breath, they alleged there was no election’, the commissioner pointed out.

He debunked the allegation by the PDP that the elected chairmen were forced to submit resignation letters in case they fail’ to do the bidding of the governor’

He also faulted PDP for claiming that Gov Hope Uzodimma has taken 50 percent of local government funds to finance the state electricity project, noting that all transactions regarding the project were transparent.

Describing PDP as a sore loser that was never prepared for the election, Emelumba urged it to approach the court for whatever remedy it seeks as advised by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He warned them against resorting to any kind of violence against the chairmen and councillors who were democratically elected by their people in their respective local government areas.