By Ismail Shuaib
ABUJA: The Julius Abure-led faction of Labour Party LP has threatened legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC after the party’s candidates were omitted from the August 16 bye-elections.
The party described INEC’s decision as “unlawful, surprising and an abuse of power.”
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party argued that as a registered political party, it has a constitutional right to sponsor candidates.
Ifoh stated that INEC’s decision to “cherry pick elections” was an overreach of its powers.
“The party is also aware that the INEC has no powers to either stop it from sponsoring candidates nor cherry pick elections where it deems fit for our party to field candidates,” the statement read.
Ifoh emphasized that no court, including the Supreme Court, has de-recognized the current leadership of the Labour Party.
He explained that the Supreme Court’s April 4, 2025, judgment only addressed the lower court’s jurisdiction and did not rule on the substantive matter of the party’s leadership.
“The Supreme Court in its wisdom ruled that parties should resolve its problems within the available mechanism as provided by its constitutions,” he said.
According to him, “at no point did the Supreme Court empowered INEC to interfere with the internal matters of the political party.”
The party therefore demanded that INEC immediately enlists its nominated candidates for the bye-elections and cease interfering in its internal affairs.
“INEC cannot arrogate to itself the powers of the courts or give different interpretation to a clear judgement of the apex court,” the statement warned.
The Labour Party leadership warned that if its candidates were not included, the bye-election would be a “waste of resources and precious time” and a “colossal loss of scarce monetary resources.”
It urged its members and candidates to remain calm and vigilant, assuring that all legal avenues would be explored to ensure their names are on the ballot.
