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JUBILATION: SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS ACHONU AS IMO LP GUBER CANDIDATE
There was jubilation at the secretariat of the Labour Party (LP) in Abuja when the Supreme Court on Thursday, September 28, delivered its judgment regarding the Labour Party governorship candidate for the Saturday, September 11, 2023 gubernatorial election.
The apex court in its judgement affirmed Senator Athan Achonu as the LP governorship candidate off-cycle election in Imo state.
Achonu is aiming to become the first physically challenged governor in the country through the off-season election taking place in the state.
An aggrieved aspirant in the last LP primaries, Basil Maduka, had objected to Achonu’s candidature at both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal but the apex court dismissed the case on Thursday, for lack of merit.
A panel of five justices, led by Justice Iyang Okoro, also chided the appellant for abusing the court process and wasting the time of the courts.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja alongside lawyers of the party, the LP national legal officer, Kehinde Edun, hailed the Supreme Court justices, saying they did justice to the case, Channels TV report added.
He said, “The justices discovered the case lacked locus standi and threw it out. They also chided the lawyers of the petitioners for wasting their time.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) earlier announced that it will conduct a mock accreditation for the forthcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.
The commission disclosed that the mock accreditation will commence on Saturday, October 14, a few weeks before the off-cycle polls scheduled to be held on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner & chairman, information and voter education committee, made this known through a statement issued on Monday, September 25 via its X page.
Earlier, INEC announced the commencement of recruitment for ad-hoc staff for the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.
The electoral body noted that registration will be on for five weeks.
The LP flagbearer, Peter Obi, has urged the electorate in Imo state to vote for the party’s candidate, Senator Athan Achonu, in the forthcoming November 11, 2023, governorship election.
Obi also called on Governor Hope Uzodimma to start preparing to vacate the Government House.
He stated this while flagging off Achonu’s governorship campaign in Owerri on Tuesday, August 22.
