The Labour Party (LP) leadership in Anambra State has raised the alarm over what it alleged as plots by opposition candidate for Onitsha North/South Federal Constituency to derail the party’s victory in the 2023 General Election.
The party in a petition to the President of the Court of Appeal, Hon Justice Monica Dongban Mensem particularly noted what it claimed as the celebration of the party’s supporters that they had obtained victory through what they claimed as the unproven plot to twist justice at the Court of Appeal in the case against Labour Party and Hon Idu Emeka in APPEAL NO. = CA/AW/EP/HR/AN/01/2023 holding in Lagos on Tuesday 24th Oct,2023.
Labour Party in the petition endorsed by its Anambra State chairman, Chief Ugo Eme and the chairmen of the Onitsha North LGA and Onitsha South LGA, Dr Charles Ekeke and Mr Ndubueze Nwoke respectively drew attention of the President of the Court of Appeal to its claim that the opposition candidate’s new counsel, is a close associate of a member of the appeal panel.
The Labour Party as such appealed to the president of the Court of Appeal to use her powers to ensure that the Justice is not part of the panel to erase all suspicions.
“The opposition candidate (the Appellant) lost the election by 12,861 votes. She filed 15 grounds of appeal wherein the 1st nine grounds are talking about pre election issues, that Idu Godwin Emeka’s name is not in register of Labour Party, talking about the primaries of Labour Party that produced the winner Idu Godwin Emeka when she was not an aspirant in Labour Party Primary. She is the candidate of PDP.
“The other remaining 6 grounds of appeal are talking of alleged over voting in 30 polling units, wherein she called total of 2 witnesses in the tribunal namely herself and a subpoenaed witness, one self-acclaimed Statistician.”
Upon the fears and to ensure transparency, the Labour Party chiefs made their appeal thus:
(1) We passionately appeal to President Court of Appeal to kindly use her good office to constitute appeal panel of Court of Appeal justices of proven integrity to hear and determine the above appeal.
(2) We humbly urge President Court of Appeal to exclude the inclusion of close friend of the opposition candidate’s counsel and Former High Court Judge in Taraba State.
While noting that the petition was not to cast aspersion on the judiciary, the Labour Party respondents urged the president of the court of appeal to ensure that the opposition candidate does not use any surrogate to compromise the integrity of the Appeal Court.
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