Olugbenga Salami
Leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party, LP, has further deepened following the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja that the party and some of its officials be served with a fresh suit through a substituted means.
Former deputy national chairman of the party, Calistus Okafor had filed an ex parte motion, challenging the legality of the leadership of Akingbade Oyelakin, whom he said “represents persons wrongfully and unlawfully parading themselves as members of the National Working Committee, NWC of Labour Party.”
Okafor joined the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as a co-defendant.
He also included Julius Abure and Umar Farouq who emerged as the national chairman and the secretary of the party, respectively, at a national executive committee meeting of the party held in Benin-City, Edo State, in March 2021 as well as members of the committee set up by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC to take over the affairs of the party.
The committee members are Salisu Mohammed, Lawson Osagie, Isa Aremu, Baba Aye, Ikpe Ektokudo, Sylvester Ejiofor, and Lucy Offiong as well as one Salamatu Aliyu.
The court, through Justice Inyang Ekwo, on Monday a substituted service against the party and its officials after hearing on an ex parte application filed by the former deputy national chairman.
Justice Ekwo, specifically ordered that the defendants be served through the pasting of the court documents filed by the plaintiff at the Labour Party’s secretariat in Abuja within seven days.
The court, in the order sighted by our correspondent on Tuesday in Abuja ordered a “substituted service of the originating summons, interlocutory injunction, and all other processes in this suit on the 1st to 3rd, 6th to 12th and 14th defendants by pasting the said processes at their political party’s office, which is the 5th defendant’s office, located at No 2, Oke Agbe Street, Off Ladoke Akintoal Boulevard, Garki 11, Abuja.”
The 1st to 3rd defendants are Abure, Farouq and Oyelakin. The 6th to the 12th defendants are the members of the NLC committee and the 14th defendant is Aliyu.
The court ordered that the service must be effected “within seven days of this order.”
The judge then adjourned the case till June 30 “for further mention”.
