Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to void the nomination of Olumide Akpata as the Labour Party candidate for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Nigeria.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho upheld the arguments made by Akpata’s lawyer, Johnson Usman (SAN), that the plaintiffs lacked the legal right to institute the suit. The plaintiffs—Anderson Asemota, Monday Mawah (a deputy governorship candidate), and Lamidi Apapa (listed as acting national chairman of the Labour Party)—had filed the suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Olumide Akpata, and the Labour Party.
Justice Omotosho ruled that the plaintiffs did not have the locus standi to approach the court since they did not participate in the February 23, 2024, primary of the party, from which Akpata emerged as the candidate. He emphasized that the issue pertained to the nomination of a candidate, which is part of the internal affairs of a political party, thereby making it the party’s prerogative to determine its candidate. Consequently, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit.
Even assuming jurisdiction, Justice Omotosho noted that the suit itself lacked merit. He pointed out that the Court of Appeal had nullified the orders made by a high court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including the order restraining the Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party. He stated:
“This means that the third plaintiff (Apapa) and those who were in acting capacity with him immediately had all their decisions nullified and non-existent. Thus, any letter written by the said acting executives, or any decisions including the purported consensus primary election which produced the 1st plaintiff (Asemota) are all non-existent, void and of no effect whatsoever.”
Justice Omotosho concluded that the foundation of the plaintiffs’ claim was thoroughly demolished by the Court of Appeal’s decision. He dismissed the argument that Asemota’s name should be accepted by INEC as the Labour Party’s candidate for the Edo governorship election.
The plaintiffs had sought the court’s order to have INEC publish Asemota’s name as the winner of the Edo Labour Party Governorship Primary Election, claiming he emerged as the consensus candidate and winner of the February 22 primary conducted by the primary election committee set up by the party’s national working committee under Apapa’s leadership.
