The Labour Party (LP) in Anambra has applauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for excluding candidates of the Julius Abure-led faction from the by-elections in the state.
The exclusion by the electoral umpire prompted a protest march to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on August 6. The by-elections are scheduled for August 16.
The candidates were elected during the primaries conducted by the Abure-led national working committee (NWC) amid a leadership crisis within the party.
Speaking at a press briefing in Awka, the capital of Anambra, on Thursday, Peter Okoye, LP chairman in the state, warned that any individual or group still conducting party business with Abure and his allies does so at the risk of sanctions.
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“We commend INEC’s decision. The commission has shown respect for the rule of law,” he said.
NAN reports that Okoye asked residents to turn out in large numbers on Saturday and vote only for candidates with proven integrity.
The LP chairman stressed that the party has no candidate in the by-elections and no alliance with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
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According to him, the party in the state will always operate within the boundaries of the law.
Okoye also passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of the faction led by Nenadi Usman, the party’s interim national chairperson.
On August 12, Obiora Ifoh, publicity secretary of the Abure faction, said the election could be nullified if INEC omits its candidates from the ballot.
Ifoh said the Electoral Act 2022 allows any political party excluded from an election to approach the court for a remedy.
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He also accused INEC of working for interests that are anti-democratic and wasting taxpayers’ money.
The upcoming by-elections in Anambra South senatorial district and Onitsha north 1 constituency are to fill the seats of the late Ifeanyi Ubah and Justice Azuka, who was kidnapped on Christmas Eve and later found dead.
