The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by Kenneth Imansuangbon seeking to disqualify Olumide Akpata as the Labour Party’s governorship candidate for the September 21 election in Edo State.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang, the court ruled that Imansuangbon had failed to use the Labour Party’s internal conflict resolution mechanisms before filing the suit.
The court found that his legal action was premature, as the necessary conditions for filing the case had not been met.
The three-man panel also noted that Imansuangbon did not present the disputed results of the February 23 Labour Party primary election, which he claimed to have won.
Earlier in June, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja had similarly dismissed a suit challenging Akpata’s nomination, agreeing with Akpata’s counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), that the plaintiffs had no legal standing to bring the case.