Three months to the conduct of the Governorship Election in Imo State, the Labour Party in Imo is still engrossed with internal party schisms revolving around who is the actual flag bearer for the election
Despite the popular believe that Senator Athan Achonu who the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, publish his name as the authentic candidate, three others are still claiming legality to the governorship ticket.
Recall that after the conduct of the primaries, Achonu, former Senator who represented Okigwe Zone (Imo North) was pronounced the winner.
But his candidacy has become a subject of contest with three others; Joseph Ukaegbu, Ike C. Ibe and Basil Maduka laying claim to the single LP ticket.
Only last week, a monitored report has it that Ukaegbu who claimed to be the legal candidate is laying authority of the ticket based on the judgment of the Federal High Court in Bayelsa which favoured him.
According to the details of their claims, the judgment which favours the other faction of LP national leadership gives power to those supporting Ukaegbu’s nomination and candidacy.
Ukaegbu, armed with the judgment has been going about claiming that he is the rightful candidate as against Achonu whose supporters dismissed the decisions of the Federal High Court, Yenogoa, Bayelsa State of not having any effect on their candidate.
Ibe on his own part is institing on being the candidate of LP for the governorship election on basis of him emerging from the Ambrose Onyekwere led state leadership.
Ibe had in a recent press release said that the LP constitution must be obeyed which states that the leadership of the party, should conduct the Governorship Primary and not the national leadership.
According to him, the national which may have had a hand in the emergence of other contenders ruined the chances of others since he is a product of the state leadership under Onyekwere.
While Ibe is awaiting court ruling to confirm his position as the true candidate of the party, Trumpeta a learnt that Maduka is also in court to win the governorship ticket of Labour Party.
Confirming that crisis is rocking the LP over who is the ticket bearer of the party ahead November 11 governorship contest, Ibe said “The four factional candidates of the Labour Party are in court. We joined all the candidates. Athan Achonu, Basil Maduka, Joseph Ukaegbu, and myself. The party, which is the labour party and INEC. So, when they will make a judgment it will be all-encompassing.
“You know the Ambrose Onyekwere Executive, you know they have a subsisting court order that says the status quo remains until the matter they filed is disposed of. As regards that they are the legitimate executives that suppose to conduct the primary as per the court order. They conducted their primary that elected me as their governorship candidate in a different process.”
“The party’s constitution is different from APC and PDP, that says only the national that can conduct primary. But the labor party says it is the state that conducts the primary. The role of the national is to give regulations and issue dates of the primary,” he added.
