By Christiana Ekpa
The Labour Party has referred a legal practitioner, Monday Mawah to the chairman, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for allegedly saying that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has declared Lamidi Apapa as the national chairman of the party.
The Labour Party, in a petition addressed to chairman of the committee, accused the lawyer of making the statement on national television following the ruling of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja last week.
The party also accused the lawyer of claiming that the court ordered that the names of candidates that emerged as winners in the purported primary election conducted by the Lamidi Apapa-faction be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be imputed as the candidates of the Labour Party for the 2023 gubernatorial elections fixed for later in the year.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, the national publicity secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said the comments of the lawyer as openly stated on national television was contrary to the decisions of the Court of Appeal in its judgments in the appeals.
According to the party, Mawah falsely stated in the interview that the Court of Appeal had upheld the decision of the trial court, which he said the court never did.
The party called on the committee to immediately commence the process of disciplining the lawyer for his “conduct infringing on the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct.”
The Labour Party petition reads in part: “Sir, it is indeed with great trepidation that we write given that this is a season of politicking and political turmoil where even otherwise profoundly discreet, prudent and circumspect people nurse no compunction or reservation about casting their pearls before swine.
“We are in a democracy and stringent opposition to our party’s candidates’ emergence is expected. We have not been left disappointed even if we have been a little surprised by the nature and provenance of these attacks.
“We are however surprised and taken aback that a member of the revered legal profession has thrown caution to the winds and has embarked on a voyage of spreading false news to bring both the bar and the bench to opprobrium.”
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