‘Only LP Candidates I Endorse Will Contest For Nov 11 Gov Election’ – Lamidi Apapa Fumes

Labour Party (LP) factional leader, Lamidi Apapa, has said only candidates endorsed by him can feature in the November 11 Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo governorship election.

VerseNews reports that Apapa said this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Owerri had affirmed him as the authentic National Chairman of the party.

“You will recall that on the April 5 the FCT High court restrained Abure and others from parading themselves as national officers of the party. As a result, the party appointed the Deputy National Chairman, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, as the acting national chairman of the party pursuant to its constitution.

Sequel to that the party under my leadership wrote to INEC changing its date of primary election earlier scheduled by Abure from April 15 to April 16. Notwithstanding the fact that he was under a restraining order, Abure still went ahead to conduct his primaries for Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa on those dates,” he said.

Apapa said on the other hand, his faction conducted primaries on April 16 making it two primaries conducted by the LP in the states.

“Peeved by the primary conducted by me, a candidate who participated in the Abure primary took my candidate to court whilst maintaining that Abure’s candidates were the authentic ones.

The case was frantically defended, and the Federal High court, Owerri Division, declared the primaries conducted by me as the authentic candidate as Abure was under a restraining order as at the time he screened candidates and conducted his primaries,” he said.

He said the court of appeal had also affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court that Abure’s conduct was contemptuous as he was under a restraining order when he conducted the said primaries.