Labour Party cautions ACN over statements on Ondo elections

The LP also insinuated that the ACN purchased some favourable judgements in the past.

 

The Ondo State Chapter of the Labour Party has chastised the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, for making remarks in the media over the victory of Governor Olusegun Mimiko in last month’s election.

The Labour Party, LP, said it is wrong for the ACN to comment about the issue in the media since the case is already in court.

The ACN had on Sunday through its Spokesperson, Idowu Ajanaku, defended the reasons the party was in court mentioning allegations bordering on criminal practices against both the LP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

But the Labour Party in a statement on Monday berated the ACN saying that once matters are in court, it becomes subjudice and should not be a subject of media analysis.

The party’s Publicity Secretary, Femi Okunjemiruwa, noted that the position of the Law is that once a matter is in court, nobody should comment on it in the media as the ACN is now doing.

“If you go to court with weighty allegations as the ones being made by the party, it behoves on you to be ready to prove these allegations rather than resorting to media rigmarole as the ACN is trying to do, they ought to be aware of the legal maxim which says he who alleges must prove,” he said.

The LP spokesperson said that even from the tirades of the ACN as enunciated by its media manager, it was obvious that the opposition party were a bunch of confused people merely out to play mischief rather than be serious at the tribunal.

“While we are not going to join issues with those who are, from all intent and purposes, not ready to subject themselves to the rule of the court considering their posturing in the last few months before, during and after the election, we would like to say that some of the issues raised were pre-election matters and not election matters.

“ACN wants to get through the back door what it could not get through a free and fair election like the one that took place on October 20th. Perhaps the party is still under the illusion that the judiciary is still under the control of the cash and carry characters of old.

“The era of judgment purchase is over and the earlier the ACN realise that the better for them,” he said.