Pandemonium broke out at the Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday as factional leaders of the Labour Party clashed in court.
Akin Osuntokun, the Director General of Peter Obi’s presidential campaign council, faced off with Lamidi Apapa, the factional national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), as the court opened for the day’s proceedings.
Taking their seats in the gallery, Osuntokun and other party stalwarts found themselves accosted by Apapa. The factional leader and his colleagues demanded that they vacate the seats. He also stated that he was the legitimate leader of LP.
“I am the legitimate leader of the Labour Party who should take this seat,” Apapa asserted firmly.
Unyielding, Osuntokun refused to give up his seat, maintaining that Apapa had no right to claim it.
In the midst of the escalating tension between the duo, Secretary of the Presidential Election Tribunal, Josephine Ekperobe, had to intervene to calm the situation.
Meanwhile, Julius Abure, the suspended national chairman of the Labour Party, found himself entangled in a leadership dispute with Apapa. Abure had been previously been suspended by the party.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja had issued a restraining order against Abure, prohibiting him from portraying himself as the national chairman of the party.
