The Labour Party (LP) has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged illegal distribution of nomination forms by a former national chairman of the party, Julius Abure.
The party’s National Chairman, Nenadi Usman, made the allegation while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the party’s screening of aspirants for primaries on Thursday in Abuja.
Usman said copies of the petitions written to the IGP and the DSS has also been forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
She described the alleged circulation of the forms as unlawful, insisting that the leadership elected at the party’s Umuahia convention remained the recognised one.
“We received the news surprisingly. It was a big surprise because after the court said his (Abure’s) tenure was over, we went to Umuahia, held a national convention and elected new leaders.
“INEC was there and recognised what we did. The names on INEC’s website are those voted for in Umuahia, and then he comes and starts distributing forms,” the former Minister of Finance stated.
Asked if the party had been served with any notice of the appeal, the LP chairman said that the party had yet to be served with any, regarding Abure’s alleged appeal to the Supreme Court.
Usman maintained that the Supreme Court would likely uphold its earlier position on the party’s leadership dispute.
“My take is that the Supreme Court will maintain its stand. If a court says my tenure is over tomorrow, I cannot go back to say it is not over,” she added.