Don’t Screen Any Contestant – LP Chairmen Warn Lamidi Apapa-led Group.
TheLabour Party state chairmen have cautioned the Lamidi Apapa-led group against screening candidates for the upcoming off-circle election, as they remain suspended officials.
The call was made by Mr Kehinde Rotimi, the Kwara chairman of LP, while addressing journalists in Abuja. Rotimi, who is also the chairman of Forum of States LP chairmen, stated that screening was already ongoing for the off-circle governorship elections for Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states. He further added that they were at the screening when they learned that some people had constituted themselves at the party’s Secretariat to screen some candidates for the elections.
Don’t Screen Any Contestant – LP Chairmen Warn Lamidi Apapa-led Group.
Rotimi highlighted that this was an aberration because the group did not have the legal standing to do that. He explained that the party had its own screening committee that had already screened many candidates. The chairmen further stated that they discovered that their secretariat was under lock and key when they came to meet.
“When we heard that, we said that was an aberration because they don’t have the legal standing to do that.
“We have our own screening committee. The committee has screened many candidates.
“We came here today to meet at our secretariat but we discovered that it was under lock and key.”
However, the chairmen resisted the temptation to cause commotion to avoid contempt of court since the matter was now a legal issue.
Don’t Screen Any Contestant – LP Chairmen Warn Lamidi Apapa-led Group.
Rotimi emphasized that if someone accused someone else of an offense or crime in court, the person must be heard according to the provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. He added that in this case, four principal officers of the party had been accused of a serious offense, but they had not been heard by the court. He noted that the next thing they heard was that they should stop parading themselves as officers of LP.
Moreover, Rotimi said that the NEC had not met to decide if Apapa and other suspended members would be called back from suspension, but they were already parading themselves as officers, which was bad. Mr Ogboloi Kelly, Edo LP chairman, also spoke and said that the National Working Committee was an integral part of the NEC. Therefore, it was illegal for a small fraction of it to break into the party’s office and install themselves as leaders. He concluded that it was an illegitimate act and would not be condoned.
The Apapa’s group, consisting of seven members of the NWC of the Party, installed the National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Apapa, as the acting chairman of the party to replace Julius Abure. They claimed that they were acting based on the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which restrained Abure from parading himself as the National Chairman of the party.
Don’t Screen Any Contestant – LP Chairmen Warn Lamidi Apapa-led Group.
However, the 36 state chairmen of the party forced their way into the party’s headquarters, insisting that Abure remained the party’s leader.
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Anslem Eragbe, the former Youth Leader of the party who was suspended by the NWC, reacted to the incident by saying that the Apapa group was acting in accordance with the party’s constitution. He emphasised that they were merely acting on the court judgement delivered and expressed worry over the bad treatment meted out to Apapa.
