The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by Kenneth Imansuangbon, challenging the candidacy of Olumide Akpata as the Labour Party’s governorship candidate for the upcoming September 21 election in Edo State.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Okon Abang ruled that Imansuangbon failed to follow the Labour Party’s internal conflict resolution process before resorting to legal action. The court also deemed the case premature, citing that the necessary legal prerequisites were not fulfilled.
Furthermore, the three-man panel unanimously noted that Imansuangbon did not present the disputed results from the party’s February 23 primary election, which he claimed to have won.
This ruling echoes a previous decision by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who in June, also dismissed a suit to invalidate Akpata’s nomination. Justice Omotosho had agreed with Akpata’s lawyer, Johnson Usman (SAN), that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to file the case.
