The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has invalidated the list of all the candidates submitted by the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) faction.
TheHintsNews reports that the Supreme Court’s judgment of April 4, 2025 ruled that the tenure of Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has expired.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s judgment, INEC had insisted that Abure’s tenure as National Chairman of the LP had expired in June 2023.
Investigation revealed that none of the primaries the Abure’s faction conducted was monitored by officials of the commission, a crucial requirement for validating political parties’ primaries and candidates.
With this development, it shows the Labour Party leadership is now operating under recognised structures led by Senator Nenadi Usman.
The move by INEC will not only uphold the rule of law but also protect the integrity of the electoral process, ensuring that the will of the people is accurately represented.
However, Abure’s faction has described INEC’s action as unlawful and an abuse of power.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Abure’s faction, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, said the party was aware of its rights as specified in the Constitution and the Electoral Acts 2022 as amended, as regards its powers to sponsor candidates in elections.
He noted: “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.
“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 judgment of the Supreme Court ruled only on the lack of jurisdiction of the lower court and Court of Appeal.
“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.”
But in a swift reaction, the Usman-led faction of the party described the decision of INEC as a welcome development, saying it was in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment of April 4, 2025.
Reacting on behalf of Nenadi Usman, her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ken Asogwa, said: “Though it’s unfortunate that the Labour Party’s candidates are missing on that list, it’s heartwarming to see that INEC is now beginning to give effect to the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on April 4, 2025, which affirmed Senator Nenadi Usman as the authentic chairman of the Labour Party.
“Therefore, we urge the INEC as a responsible institution to take further steps by officially recognising Senator Usman as the valid chairman of the party.”
© Thisday