The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of Olumide Akpata, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), confirming his position as the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State scheduled for September 21.
This decision came in response to an appeal lodged by Kenneth Imasuangbon, a disgruntled aspirant for the governorship position. Imasuangbon argued that Akpata should not have been eligible to run in the election and sought a court order to force the Labour Party to retract Akpata’s candidacy, asserting that he himself was the rightful candidate after placing second in the primary elections.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang on Wednesday, the appellate court found that Imasuangbon neglected to utilize the Labour Party’s internal mechanisms for dispute resolution prior to initiating legal proceedings.
The three-judge panel concluded that Imasuangbon failed to present the contested results of the February 23 primary election, which he alleged to have won. Justice Babatunde Quadri, who also contributed to the ruling, dismissed the case, stating it lacked merit and jurisdiction, and characterized the suit as premature with insufficient evidence backing its claims.
The appellate court ultimately upheld the earlier decision made by the Federal High Court in Benin, where Justice Babatunde Quadri had previously dismissed Imasuangbon’s case for lack of merit.
