The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the Labour Party’s (LP) attempt to participate in the upcoming FCT area council elections scheduled for February 21.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2110/2025, Justice Peter Lifu declined to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept or publish the party’s list of candidates.
Justice Lifu ruled that the suit filed by the Labour Party and its candidates was statute-barred, as it was not filed within 14 days of the cause of action arising.
The party had challenged INEC’s decision to exclude its candidates from the elections, arguing that they were duly nominated and that their exclusion, as well as the omission of the party’s logo from the list of authorised political parties, was unlawful.
The Labour Party said it had written to the INEC Chairman on September 8, 2025, and followed up with another letter on October 2, 2025, protesting the exclusion but received no response.
The plaintiffs argued that, without judicial intervention, they would be barred from fielding candidates in the polls.
Justice Lifu, however, dismissed the suit, upholding INEC’s position and confirming that the Labour Party’s candidates would not participate in the FCT area council elections.
