From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Barrister Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party has condemned the omission of its candidates from the August 16 bye-election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The party described the omission as “unlawful,” “surprising,” and an “abuse of power” by the electoral umpire.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, argued that, as a registered political party in Nigeria, the Labour Party is fully aware of its rights as specified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2022, as amended, regarding its powers to sponsor candidates in elections.
He added that the party is also aware that INEC has no authority to either stop it from sponsoring candidates or cherry-pick elections where it deems fit for the party to field candidates.
“It is on record that no court in Nigeria, including the Supreme Court, has derecognised the present leadership of the Labour Party.
“It is also a fact that the April 4, 2025, judgement of the Supreme Court ruled only on the lack of jurisdiction of the lower court and Court of Appeal.
“The Supreme Court did not rule on the substantive matter, as courts, including the Supreme Court, are barred from entertaining cases on the internal matters of any political party.
“The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, ruled that parties should resolve their problems within the available mechanisms as provided by their constitutions.
“At no point did the Supreme Court empower INEC to interfere with the internal matters of the political party.
“INEC, as a regulatory body, must limit itself to the provisions of the laws that instituted it.
“INEC cannot stop political parties from fielding candidates in an election, provided the political parties abide by the requirements of the Electoral Act.
“We are, by this statement, asking INEC to enlist our duly nominated candidates for the August 16 bye-election without further delay and to refrain from interfering with the internal matters of the Labour Party.
“INEC cannot arrogate to itself the powers of the courts or give a different interpretation to a clear judgement of the apex court.
“The actions of INEC, if not redressed immediately, will be challenged. The Labour Party, as a responsible organisation, will do everything within the law to ensure that all efforts by INEC to intimidate, harass, and ridicule the Labour Party are resisted.
“The Labour Party has built a reputation over the last 23 years as a party for the masses, and we will not succumb to the renewed onslaught by some politicians using every available means to stultify our party’s progress.
“The Labour Party is not for sale, and any institution or commission making itself available to be used by politicians will have itself to blame.
“We warn that it will be a waste of resources and precious time should INEC go ahead with the bye-election without the Labour Party on the ballot.
“It will indeed be catastrophic and a colossal loss of scarce monetary resources should INEC have its way.
“We are also calling on Nigerians, particularly Labour Party members, to remain vigilant and to keep praying for the nation that someday the electoral process in Nigeria will be got right and that some persons will be made to take responsibility for their actions and inactions while in office.
“We are also calling on all our candidates to remain calm, as the party will do everything possible to ensure their names are uploaded for the August 16, 2025, bye-election and every other election in the future,” Ifoh stated.
