Edo Guber: Appeal Court dismisses suit seeking to disqualify Akpata

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Olumide Akpata as the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the Sept. 21 election in Edo.

The appellate court held that the suit instituted by an aggrieved governorship aspirant, Kenneth Imasuangbon lacked cogent and verifiable evidence in the allegations against Akpata.

In the judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang, the court held among others, that Imasuangbon failed to explore inter conflict resolution mechanism of the Labour Party before rushing to Court.

To this end, the court held that his case was premature in law and could not be entertained on the ground that conditions precedents were not met.

The unanimous judgment of the three-member panel also held that the appellant failed to tender the disputed results of the February 23 primary election of the party which he claimed to have won.

Justice Abang held that the claim of Imasuangbon that he was not given official results by the Labour Party cannot hold water because he had his agent at the primary election.

The court further held that the appellant did not call as a witness, a single delegate from those he claimed voted for him at the primary election.

The court added that Imansuangbon’s allegations that Akpata did not sign the Indemnity Form is statute-barred and therefore lacked jurisdiction.

The appellate court therefore upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in Benin delivered by Justice Babatunde Quadiri, which had earlier dismissed Imasuangbon’s suit for want of merit.

Imasuangbon had in the suit prayed that Akpata be disqualified as Labour Party gubernatorial candidate on the allegations that he was not qualified to have participated in the poll.

He asked for an order of the court compelling the Labour Party to withdraw the candidacy of Akpata and submit his own name as the right candidate having come second in the primary election.