The factional national chairman of Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, on Wednesday, had shouting match at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja over a seat.
In a viral video on social media, Apapa was seen fighting over seats reserved for some top members of the Labour Party including the director-general of the Peter Obi Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, saying that he was representing the party and had the right to the seat.
Apapa said in the video pointing at Osuntokun, “I’m talking to you, who are you? I’m representing Labour Party here and you can not sit down here. I have the right.”
Apapa, who has been attempting to take over the leadership of the party since the 2023 presidential election was concluded, arrived at the Presidential Election Petition Court on Wednesday with other members of his faction.
The Presidential Election Petition court on Wednesday refused to recognise any representative of the Labour Party except the 1st petitioner, Peter Obi who was in court.
The court presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani reached the decision having been possibly intimated that there was a disagreement between two factions of the party before the court resumed proceedings.
When the matter was called, Obi stood up to announce his appearance followed by Dudu Manuga, the National Women’s Leader of the Party who sat close to Obi.
Meanwhile, Before the court could record Manuga on the list, Lamidi Apapa quickly stood up to announce his appearance as the representative of the Labour Party.
However, Justice Haruna interjected and said, ” It appears there was a little disagreement… We are not recognizing any representative from the party.”
Earlier on, factions of the Labour Party could be sighted at the PEPC Court, engaging in a war of words over which faction is the authentic one.
The Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the LP was challenging why members of the party loyal to Julius Abure were in the court.
They asserted that the ruling of a High Court of the FCT, suspending the Abure-led faction, remains.
The court rose on the last adjourned date for the continuation of the pre-hearing of Peter Obi’s petition.
The drama which could have interfered with today’s proceedings appears to have been arrested with this intervention.
