Abure LP faction warns INEC over by-election exclusion, threatens legal action

The Julius Abure-led Labour Party (LP) has warned that the bye-election scheduled for August 16 could be nullified if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) omits its candidates from the ballot.

The electoral umpire excluded the names of LP candidates from its list on August 2 — a move that prompted a protest march to the commission’s Abuja headquarters last week.

The candidates had emerged from primaries conducted by the Abure-led national working committee (NWC) amid a leadership crisis within the party.

In a statement on Tuesday, Obiora Ifoh, factional national publicity secretary of the LP, asked INEC to publish the party’s candidates’ names and ensure its logo is on the ballot.

Ifoh said the Electoral Act 2022 allows any political party excluded from an election to approach the court for a remedy.

“The leadership of the Labour Party has advised that if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) goes ahead to conduct the August 16, 2025, bye-election without publishing the names of its candidates and ensuring that its logo appears on the ballot, it will seek the nullification of the election in line with the provision of the law,” the statement reads.

“The party has also called on well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC to respect the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Law by discharging its duties as specified by the laws of the land and avoiding waste of taxpayers’ money.

“It accused INEC of working for interests that are anti-democratic and of wasting taxpayers’ money.

“INEC is gambling with the huge resources the country is spending on conducting the bye-election scheduled for August 16, 2025.

“We will not be helpless, as the law provides adequate remedies for any act or omission by the commission that shortchanges a political party or damages its image.

“A political party is expected to guard its image and reputation jealously, and the Labour Party will not take lightly any conduct by any agency or regulatory body intended to tarnish its reputation.”

The LP spokesperson also questioned whether INEC is protecting certain interests by proceeding with elections that could ultimately be voided.

“One wonders what interest INEC is protecting that will make it throw the entire country into an unnecessary crisis and incur such a colossal financial waste,” Ifoh said.

“By virtue of the Supreme Court decision delivered on April 4, 2025, the court stated that issues of leadership are internal affairs of the party and should be dealt with by the party’s internal mechanisms.

“The party held a convention on March 27, 2024, at Nnewi, which produced the current leadership led by Barrister Julius Abure.

“INEC, under Prof. Yakubu, must respect the decisions of both the Supreme Court and the leadership of the Labour Party.”

On August 5, the Nenadi Usman faction of the party commended INEC for excluding the list of candidates submitted by Abure’s leadership.

The rival group also described the development as a relief, adding that the electoral body is expected to recognise and publish the authentic list of candidates submitted by the lawful leadership of the party.

Since the 2023 general election, LP has fractured while battling a leadership crisis that has produced parallel factions, with different factions asserting legitimacy and control over party activities.