A federal high court sitting at Abuja on Tuesday, granted an order to the factional national chairman of Labour party, Comr Calistus Okafor to serve the faction of Mr Peter Obi the processes of the court by a substituted means.
The order for a substituted service on Julius Abure who was said to be evading the service of the court was granted by Justice Ekwo.
The order was made for a “substituted service on the originating summons, interlocutory injunction on all other processes in this suit on the 1st to 3rd, 6th to 12th and 14th defendants by pasting the said processes on their political party’s office, which is the 5th defendant’s office, located at No 2, Oke Agbe street, Off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki II, Abuja.”
The court said, “service to be effected within 7 days of this order”, and subsequently adjourned to June 30th for further mention.
There had been a pending suit over the leadership tussle in Labour party between Comr Calistus Okafor and Julius Abure. This matter has been pending in the court since 2021.
Comr Okafor approached the court for this order of substituted service after the court was convinced that Abure has been hiding from being served the court processes.
Comr Calistus Okafor who is laying claim to the Chairmanship of the Labour party was the deputy national chairman of the party under the late National chairman, Abdulkadir Abdusalam who died in year 2020.
Mr Julius Abure who was the then acting National secretary of the party announced himself as the national chairman without recourse to the provisions of the party’s constitution which stated that the deputy national chairman shall act and or replace the chairman in the course of death or resignation.
It was this action of Abure that led to the leadership crisis. Okafor is asking the court to protect him against the forceful takeover of the party by Abure.
Thie litigation will affect the presidential ambition of Mr Peter Obi who has identified with the faction of Mr Julius Abure unless the leadership crisis is resolved before the June 7 deadline given by INEC for all parties to submit names of candidates.