The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday, dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify the Edo State Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata, from the upcoming governorship election scheduled for 21 September.
In a unanimous judgment, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the suit instituted by Kenneth Imasuangbon failed to utilise the Labour Party’s internal conflict resolution mechanism before proceeding to court.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang, the court ruled that the suit lacked cogent and verifiable evidence against the respondent.
The court further stated that Imasuangbon’s allegations that the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association did not sign the Indemnity Form were statute-barred and
outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Abang noted, “The appeal was premature in law and cannot be entertained on the ground that the necessary conditions precedent were not met.”
He also pointed out that the appellant failed to present the disputed results of the party’s 23 February primary election, which he claimed to have won.
The court ruled that Imasuangbon’s claim, that he was not provided official results by the Labour Party, was untenable because his agent was present at the primary election.
Additionally, the appellate court faulted Imasuangbon for not calling any witnesses or delegates from those who allegedly voted for him at the primary election.
As a result, the court upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in Benin City, delivered by Justice Babatunde Quadiri, which dismissed Imasuangbon’s suit for lack of merit.
In his suit filed before the lower court in Benin, Imasuangbon sought to disqualify Akpata as the Labour Party’s governorship candidate, claiming that Akpata was not qualified to participate in the election. He also prayed for an order compelling the Labour Party to withdraw Akpata’s candidacy and replace him with Imasuangbon, who claimed to have come second in the primary election.
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