The Labour Party has said it is “amazed” at the spate of judgements at the tribunals sacking its elected members at the National and Houses of Assembly.
The party said it took Nigerians by surprise in the last election by “rewriting the political narratives and ending the dominance of the two major political parties in Nigeria.”
It however lamented that its successes at the last general election was “regrettably being reversed by the pronouncements coming out from the various tribunals.”
The tribunals have sacked Labour Party elected lawmakers in Lagos, Abia, Enugu among other States.
In a statement by its factional Chairman, Julius Abure, the Labour Party said it was worried because “the reasons for reversing our victories are matters that have been settled by the superior courts in the past.”
The statement reads: “The Labour Party is amazed at the spate of judgments being churned out at the various National and State Assembly tribunals where several of our elected members at the National Assembly have been sacked by the tribunals.
“Labour Party at the last general election took Nigerians by surprise by rewriting the political narratives and ending the dominance of the two major political parties in Nigeria. LP became a household name with over 10 million members and supporters across the nation. However, this feat is regrettably being reversed by the pronouncements coming out from the various tribunals.
“We are worried because the reasons for reversing our victories are matters that have been settled by the superior courts in the past. It is even incomprehensible and ludicrous when different tribunals give conflicting and diverse judgements on the same matter, a matter that has since been ruled by the Supreme Court and very recently at the Presidential Election Petition Court in APC v Peter Obi. The courts have in a plethora of cases held that the court has no jurisdiction to intervene in the internal affairs of a political party.
“The issue of nomination of candidates as well as membership are internal affairs of the party beyond the jurisdiction of courts. It is only a political party that can determine who its members are and who their flag bearer for an election should be.
“In its judgment in SC/CV/501/2023 which was sighted for the Tribunal, the Supreme Court held that “A political party that files a suit to challenge the nomination of the candidate of another party will be a nosy busybody, a meddlesome interloper, peeping into the affairs of his neighbour without any backing in law. No court of law can entertain such a Suit”
“In the case of ARDO & ANOR v. NYAKO & ORS (2013) LPELR-CA/YL/15/2012 (CONSOLIDATED), the court of appeal, per Per DENTON-WEST, J.C.A., held that; “However it is a notorious principle of law that courts have no right whatsoever to descend into the internal affairs of political parties as to choose their candidates for them” or decide the status of their membership.
“This position is more vividly expounded in the case of AGI v. PDP & ORS (2016) LPELR-SC.256/2016, where the Supreme Court held that; “… a party is supreme over its own affairs……A party is like a club. A voluntary association. It has its rules, regulations, guidelines, and Constitution…”
“Part of the rules and guidelines of the Labour Party is to accord membership to any Nigerian who desires, and including by way of a waiver. If you look at our guidelines, it is very clear that we can grant a waiver to people who are joining us during the election, and Labour Party in observance of its own relevant rules and guidelines discharged its obligations by granting a waiver to as many as requested for it. So, It is our inalienable right under our own rules and we activated it to the fullest.”
The party noted that the decisions of the tribunals were in contravention of established jurisprudence.
It said it was a “mockery of our judicial system for lower courts to upturn a judgement already delivered by the Supreme court.”
(The Nation)
