|By Chinwendu Nwani
Members of the Labour Party (LP) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Monday staged a protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding the immediate inclusion of the party’s candidates on the ballot for the February 21 Area Council elections in Abuja.
The protesters accused INEC of deliberately excluding the party despite what they described as a subsisting court order mandating the commission to upload LP candidates. They warned that the move amounted to a calculated attempt to disenfranchise their supporters in the FCT.
At the INEC headquarters, the demonstrators threatened to occupy the premises until the commission complied. Responding to the protest, INEC National Commissioner, Abdullahi Abdul Zuru, said the commission was grappling with conflicting court orders but assured that INEC would act in line with the law.
Zuru said he would personally transmit the court order presented by the protesters to the INEC Chairman, stressing that the commission, as a law-abiding institution, would take appropriate action.
The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions demanding INEC’s compliance, including calls for the immediate upload of Labour Party candidates and warnings that the absence of LP on the ballot could undermine the credibility of the FCT council elections.
Speaking during the protest, the FCT Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Eyisi Okey Nwoke, insisted that Julius Abure remains the recognised national chairman of the party and described the exclusion as politically motivated.
Nwoke traced the dispute to the aftermath of the 2023 general election, alleging that the Labour Party’s strong showing in the FCT had unsettled political opponents. He accused INEC of acting unlawfully by failing to obey a court order directing the inclusion of LP candidates.
According to him, the party had exhausted legal options and was now compelled to demand immediate compliance, insisting that Labour Party supporters in the FCT would not accept exclusion from the electoral process.
He also dismissed claims of internal factional crises within the party, describing them as attempts by detractors to destabilise LP, particularly in the FCT where he said the party enjoys widespread support.
Also addressing the protesters, the Chairman of the Labour Party in the North Central Zone, Princess Licia Igbe, said the demonstration was peaceful and constitutionally guaranteed. She urged INEC to uphold democratic principles by obeying the court order and restoring confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Igbe warned that denying Labour Party candidates access to the ballot amounted to an attack on voters’ rights and Nigeria’s democracy.
INEC, through its officials, maintained that the commission has never willfully disobeyed court orders. The commission explained that delays in compliance often arise from conflicting judicial directives, noting that decisions of such nature are taken collectively by the commission and not by individual officials.
INEC added that it could not give a specific timeline for resolving the issue, stressing that the matter would be addressed after due consideration by the full commission.
