‘No recognised LP candidate’ — Obi asks supporters to vote ADC in by-elections

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has implored his supporters to vote for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the forthcoming by-elections.

In a post published via his X page on Thursday, Obi, a member of the ADC-led coalition, said his decision was due to the LP having no candidates recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the ballot amid an internal crisis.

“On the 16th of August 2025, Nigerians will go to the polling units again for the by-elections,” Obi wrote.

“This is expected to take place in the 16 states of the federation, with 2 senatorial, 5 federal house of representatives and 9 state assembly seats available for voting.

“Kindly note that the Labour Party has no candidates recognised by INEC due to the internal crisis.

“I humbly urge every member of the Obidient and COPDEM families to go out and vote for the coalition political party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in their respective states.

“The struggle for Nigeria has started.”

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 Julius Abure-led national working committee (NWC) amid a leadership crisis within the party.

On August 5, the Nenadi Usman faction of the LP 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.

On August 12, Obiora Ifoh, national 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.

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

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