By Chesa Chesa
The Supreme Court of Nigeria in Thursday dismissed an appeal brought before it by Basil Maduka against the Labour Party (LP) over the rightful candidate of the party in the Imo state governorship election on the ground of locus standi.
A panel of five justices led by Iyang Okoro also cautioned the Appellant for abusing court process and wasting the time of the courts all through from the lower courts.
Two other respondents in the matter were Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Lamidi Apapa led candidate, Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, whose request to seek for a consequential order was also rejected by the Supreme Court.
Counsel to the Labour Party, Barrister Okwudili Anozie, explained to journalists afterwards that the judgement not only affirms Athan Nneji Achonu as the governorship candidate of the party in Imo State, but also legitimizes Abure as the national chairman of LP.
According to him: “Today at the Supreme Court, the antics of Basil Maduka and his accomplice Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, was put to an end as they met their Waterloo at the Apex Court.
“Today was a culmination of their deceit and lies to Imolites spanning from their misrepresentation of the true position of the judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
“Upon the exposure and collapse of their lies before the Supreme Court today, Basil’s Counsel, with tails in between his legs, immediately withdrew his subterfuge appeal that was aimed at giving credence to Ukaegbu’s sham, non-existent primaries.
“The Supreme Court didn’t entertain Ukaegbu’s counsel’s ignorant attempt to seek for a consequential order, which even a first year student of law knows cannot be sought by a Respondent especially in this case where the appeal was dismissed.
“Indeed, today has been a day of reckoning for evil doers whose sole plan was to stop the aspiration of Imolites in their determination to Take Imo Back through Senator Athan Nneji Achonu.”
A statement issued by the party’s spokesman, Obiora Ifoh, said that “with this judgement by the highest court in Nigeria, the Lamidi Apapa’s plot to hijack the affairs of the Labour Party including the powers to nominate candidates has finally come to an end”.
