In a statement, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, the national press secretary of the LP, accused a few members of the commission's legal staff of committing the claimed offense.
The Labour Party candidate, Hon. Amobi Ogah, who is the plaintiff in the appeal, and the All Progressives Congress candidate, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, who is the respondent, were involved in an ugly incident yesterday, October 19, 2023, in Lagos State, the location of the appeal court. In that case, INEC is also a Respondent.
The petition to INEC was justified, according to LP, by the following statement: "The responsibility of INEC in this issue is simply to defend the outcome of the election that it conducted and on the basis of which it declared Hon. Amobi Ogah as the duly-elected candidate to represent Isikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in the National Assembly.
Any notion of a compromise must be rejected by the Commission. After the contentious 2023 general elections, Nigerians are still expecting to it to restore their faith in the country.
It must prevent a few willing members of the Commission from further impairing their impartiality.
"Hon. Ogah of the Labour Party ran for and won with a significant margin the Federal House of Representatives seat for Isikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency, but his victory was subsequently thrown out by the Election Tribunal, motivating the decision to appeal to the Appellate Court.
"Sir, what happened yesterday, October 19th, 2023, was unbelievable; therefore, we request that you snuff out the development in order to avoid a nasty situation. With a letter of authorization to represent the commission, INEC hired Senior Counsel J.O. Asoluka (SAN) as its attorneys.
"However, at the beginning of the hearing in the Appeal Court, a different attorney showed up with a new letter of power to take over the case of the same INEC without first informing J.O. Asoluka (SAN) that a new counsel had been hired.
Additionally, they did not see the need to notify the Plaintiff of the development as required by law. The two counsels argued about who had INEC's permission to represent it in the lawsuit when the issue arose as a result.
Several expelled Labor Party members led by Lamidi Apapa were conspicuously present at the Appeal Court's location. Also present were a few APC leaders who openly associate with the Apapa cohorts and publicly boast that they will avoid judgment at any costs. Additionally, they tried in vain to take over the Labour Party's legal defense.
"Chairman Sir, It Has Now Come To Our Attention That The Change Of Legal Guard Without Proper Notification Of The Interested Parties Was Carefully Orchestrated By The Commission In Alliance With Our Opponents With The Intention To Stall Proceedings At The Court Of Appeal And Frustrate Our Candidate's Appeal That Was Due For Hearing On Thursday," they said.
"We are raising this alarm because time is of the essence, even though the collaborators achieved their objectives as the appeal could not be heard and was adjourned by the court to enable INEC to set its house in order and determine which of the two counsels has her authority to represent her in the appeal," the petitioner said.