Unjust Judgments Reversing Our Feats In 2023 Poll, LP Laments

The Labour Party (LP) has raised the alarm over what it described as “unjust judgments” by some election petition tribunals which are overturning its victories in parts of the country.

The party said that it is “amazed at the spate of judg­ments being churned out at the various National and State As­sembly Tribunals where several of our elected members at the National Assembly have been sacked by the tribunals.”

National Chairman of the par­ty, Julius Abure, in a statement on Tuesday, recalled that “Labour Party at the last general election took Nigerians by surprise by re­writing the political narratives and ending the dominance of the two major political parties in Nigeria.

“LP became a household name with over 10 million mem­bers and supporters across the nation. However, this feat is re­grettably being reversed by the pronouncements coming out from the various tribunals.”

He frowned at the tribunals’ judgment, insisting that the “reasons for reversing our vic­tories are matters that have been settled by the superior courts in the past.”

Abure also lambasted the conduct of the tribunals, insist­ing that it was “incomprehensi­ble and ludicrous when different tribunals give conflicting and di­verse judgments on the same mat­ter, a matter that has since been ruled by the Supreme Court and very recently at the Presidential Election Petition Court in APC v Peter Obi.

“The courts have in a pleth­ora of cases held that the court has no jurisdiction to intervene in the internal affairs of a polit­ical party.

“The issue of nomination of candidates as well as member­ship are internal affairs of the party beyond the jurisdiction of courts.”

He noted that it is only a po­litical party that can determine who its members are and who their flag bearers for an election should be.

“In its judgment in SC/ CV/501/2023 which was sighted for the tribunal, the Supreme Court held that ‘A political party that files a suit to challenge the nomination of the candidate of another party will be a nosy busy­body, a meddlesome interloper, peeping into the affairs of his neighbour without any backing in law. No court of law can enter­tain such a suit.

“In the case of ARDO & ANOR v. NYAKO & ORS (2013) LPELR-CA/YL/15/2012 (consolidated), the Court of Appeal, per Per Denton-West, J.C.A., held that: ‘However it is a notorious principle of law that courts have no right whatsoev­er to descend into the internal affairs of political parties as to choose their candidates for them” or decide the status of their membership.

“This position is more viv­idly expounded in the case of AGI v. PDP & ORS (2016) LPELR-SC.256/2016, where the Supreme Court held that; “… a party is su­preme over its own affairs……A party is like a club. A voluntary association. It has its rules, reg­ulations, guidelines, and consti­tution…”

“Part of the rules and guide­lines of the Labour Party is to ac­cord membership to any Nigeri­an who so desires, and including by way of a waiver.

“If you look at our guidelines, it is very clear that we can grant a waiver to people who are join­ing us during the election, and the Labour Party in observance of its own relevant rules and guidelines discharged its obliga­tions by granting a waiver to as many as requested for it. So, it is our inalienable right under our own rules and we activated it to the fullest.

“The decisions of the tribunal against our elected lawmakers are clearly in contravention of established jurisprudence.

“Where the leadership of a party regards a person as a mem­ber of the party eligible to contest the primaries, no member of the party can complain against such a decision.

“Such an issue is within the domestic and internal affairs of the party over which the courts have no jurisdiction as such is not justiciable.

“It is therefore a mockery of our judicial system for the lower court to overturn a judgment al­ready delivered by the Supreme Court.

“Though the tribunal is not the final court, we frown at the recklessness of our judicial offi­cers in entering a judgment that looks suspicious.

“We are therefore calling the attention of the Nigeria Judicial Council to the injustice on going and to review the activities of some of our legal officers who may have been compromised and found wanting in the discharge of their duties.

“Labour Party must be en­couraged to widen the political space and end the one party sys­tem being vigorously pursued by the ruling party. Pushing the par­ty under a moving trailer will not in any way help anyone.”