The Interim National Working Committee (NWC) Labour Party, said it sees the exclusion of the party from last Saturday’s Parliamentary By-elections in 16 constituencies by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a plot to deny Nigeria electorate the opportunity of electing credible Representatives.
Tony Akeni, Interim National Publicity Secretary, in a statement on Tuesday, said the exclusion was an orchestrated plot by the “All Progressives Congress (APC) because they know that Labour Party on ballot will trounce their low-rated candidates.
The party was excluded from participating in the election on the ground that the Julius Abure led National leadership had expired in 2024.
The party believes that the leadership crisis orchestrated by Julius Abure was not enough to exclude it from the by-elections since the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country, unequivocally recognised Nenadi Usman-led Interim National Working Committee as the authentic leadership of the Labour Party.
“Julius Abure and his co-travellers have proved once more by these by-elections that as usual, they were on yet another unabashed mission to destroy our party’s strong electoral potentials on behalf of their well-known paymasters,” Akeni said in the statement.
“We consider a violation of the Nigerian Constitution and flagrant disobedient to the judgement of the highest court of the land for INEC to exclude a registered political party from participating in an election.”
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The party which also accused INEC of conspiracy, added that the election umpire ” cannot deny that it is in possession of the Certify True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgement, which affirmed Nenadi Usman and Darlington Nwokocha as leaders of the Labour Party.
The Party however apologised to all its candidates who had prepared to contest the by-elections of August 16 but were denied the opportunity at the last hour.
The party said: “We know that given a level playing ground, with your sterling qualities as candidates and our party’s masses serving ideology, you were poised to win overwhelmingly.
“We feel your pains knowing that you prepared at much cost, suffered the rigours of campaigns, assets mobilization, logistics losses and psychological trauma as you were, and at the last minute, denied your constitutional rights and opportunities to contest the elections by the tripartite conspiracy of Abure’s expired council and INEC’s delayed interpretation and execution of the Supreme Court judgement of April 4, following the scripts of their common masters.
“We call on you to remain steadfast to the call, cause and concourse of the Labour Party’s unmatched masses driven ideology for good governance. Remain steadfast and ready to fight another day.
“Through your clear-headed manifestos, which are undoubtedly a reflection of the Peter Obi’s ideology for good governance delivery and a Nigeria that works for all, Nigeria shall be free one day, and that day is not far away.
“To prepare for that day our council is doing everything necessary to have INEC fully, unequivocally and expeditiously recognize the brand new leadership of the Labour Party, ready and ship-shape for all elections here forward.”
” This is so that the ballot apartheid and franchise robbery that excluded LP candidates from the August 16th by-elections of our country will never re-occur in any manner. Never again.
The Party also called on Nigerians to join hands to salvage our party’s lost opportunities, redeem our stolen progress and regain our once hard-earned acres of Papa-Mama-Pikin political space.
“We call on organized labour, civil society groups and the pro-democracy community of Nigeria to rally round the clarion for the political liberation of Nigeria.
“Throughout our country, the Labour Party is the one and only true home for all unions under the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and civil society movements for good governance. For you and your children, it is where your labours and entitlements, in-service and out-of-service life as workers and advocates of good governance, best thrive.
“I will freely admit this. Labour Party alone cannot liberate Nigeria. So, today our party opens her doors and arms to all unions and democracy movements throughout our country for a save-Nigeria partnership”.
