The Labour Party, LP, in Imo State on Friday said that Sen. Athan Achonu’s candidature for the November 11 governorship election in the state has not been voided by any Court.
This was contained in a release signed by the State’s Party Chairman, Mr Calistus Ihejiagwa and made available to newsmen in Owerri.
Ihejiagwa, while reacting to reports in some sections of the media that Achonu had, on Friday, been sacked by an Appeal Court sitting in Owerri, described the reports as “deceitful and mischievous.”
He maintained that Achonu remained the party’s candidate.
According to him, Mr Basil Maduka, a member of the party, had approached a Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, asking the Court to replace Achonu with Chief Joseph Ukaegbu, another member of the party.
He said that on June 23, the Court, presided over by Justice B.O. Quadri, dismissed the suit for lack of merit and ruled that the Court lacked the jurisdiction to preside over the matter.
He added that the court ruled that Ukaegbu did not participate in the party’s primary election, and as such, “lacked the locus standi to institute the action”.
Ihejiagwa, urged members of the public to disregard the reports of Achonu’s purported sack by the Court, describing the reports as “dirty politics and a misrepresentation of the Court”.
He said, “Sen. Athan Achonu is and remains the valid governorship candidate of our great party, LP.”