THE Court of Appeal, Abuja has affirmed Olumide Akpata as the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the forthcoming Edo governorship election.
The court in its ruling, dismissed a suit seeking to void the nomination of Akpata as the candidate of LP in the election scheduled for September 21.
The suit was brought to the court by Kenneth Imasuagbon who was also a contestant in the LP primary.
Aggrieved by the outcome of the party governorship primary, Imasuagbon went to the federal high court in Edo state to challenge the process of the primary election.
However, the Judge, Babatunde Quadri, presiding over the case, dismissed the suit due to lack of merit.
In his ruling, Quadri stated that the plaintiff, Imasuagbon, failed to utilise the internal dispute resolution processes within the party before pursuing legal action.
Furthermore, the court determined that Imasuagbon’s claim regarding Akpata’s non-signing of the indemnity form was time-barred.
Imasuagbon, unhappy with the Federal High Court’s verdict, filed an appeal seeking a review of the decision.
Delivering judgement on Wednesday, September 11, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the lower court’s decision.
In the lead judgment, Okon Abang concurred with the lower court that Imasuagbon neglected to utilise the party’s internal conflict resolution mechanism.
Additionally, Abang ruled that Imasuagbon failed to present the disputed results of the February 23 primary election, which he claimed to have won.
Abang criticised the appellant for not presenting any witnesses to substantiate his claims. Furthermore, the court ruled that Imasuagbon’s allegations regarding Akpata’s non-signing of the indemnity form were time-barred, rendering the court devoid of jurisdiction.
Akpata was declared the winner of the primary election conducted by the Julius Abure faction of the LP on February 23, 2024.
He polled 316 votes to beat Imasuagbon and four other aspirants in the primary poll.
The Edo state governorship election will be held on Saturday, September 21.
A reporter with the ICIR
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