The Labour Party factional leader, Lamidi Apapa, was filmed quarrelling over a seat in Federal Capital Court, Abuja on Wednesday.
In the video that is making rounds on social media, Apapa could be seen fighting over seats reserved by members of the party and saying that he was representing the party and had the right to the seat. In the video, Apapa said, “I’m talking to you, who are you? I’m representing Labour Party here and you can not sit down here. I have the right.”
Apapa, who has been attempting to take over leadership of the party since the presidential election was concluded, arrived at the Presidential Election Petition Court on Wednesday with other members of his faction.
Osuntokun and other party bigwigs were already seated in the plaintiffs’ gallery when Apapa and his colleagues approached them and demanded that they give up their seats. Apapa claimed that, as the rightful head of the Labour Party, he belonged in the plaintiffs’ gallery.
But Osuntokun refused to give up his seat, insisting that Apapa had no right to take the seat. Apapa claimed that, as the rightful head of the Labour Party, he belonged in the plaintiffs’ gallery.
it took the intervention of the secretary of the Presidential Election Petition Court, Josephine Ekperobe to defuse the heightened tension in the courtroom over the row between the two leaders.
The leadership crisis in the Labour Party reached a new high when a faction of the party strongly resisted journalists from interviewing the Lamidi Apapa-led group.
The group waited to block the interview with Apapa and booed him while chanting “ole” and many other invectives.
To curtail the chaos, the police had to ward off the determined protestors who followed him out and blocked him from entering his car or leaving the premises. It was earlier reported that the Presidential Election Petition court on Wednesday refused to recognize any representative of the Labour Party except the 1st petitioner, Peter Obi, who was in court. It could be recalled that the Federal High Court, Abuja suspended Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party over alleged forgery of documents including court documents.
Following this, Apapa took over the leadership of the party but there has been a crisis in the party since then.