Labour party blasts INEC over omission of bye-election candidates

DDM News

The Labour Party has strongly condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for excluding its candidates from the August 16, 2025 bye-election list.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the party described the act as both “unlawful” and “an abuse of power” by the electoral commission.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party accused INEC of attempting to undermine its democratic rights.

The Labour Party expressed shock that its duly nominated candidates were left out of the official list released by INEC for the upcoming elections.

According to Ifoh, the commission’s action lacks any legal justification and contradicts constitutional provisions that allow registered parties to sponsor candidates.

He described the omission as a deliberate move designed to frustrate the party’s growing popularity and electoral chances.

The party vowed to resist the decision using all available legal means and demanded the immediate upload of its candidates’ names.

INEC, the party warned, has no legal authority to prevent a registered political party from participating in any election once due process has been followed.

It emphasized that the Electoral Act does not empower INEC to determine which elections a political party can contest.

The Labour Party cited a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, to support its claim of being unfairly targeted.

The party noted that no court in Nigeria, including the apex court, has invalidated its current leadership structure.

It also stressed that the Supreme Court judgment had affirmed the right of political parties to manage their internal affairs without external interference.

Obiora Ifoh said the party would not be intimidated, adding that any attempt to sideline Labour Party from the political process would be met with resistance.

He further stated that INEC’s decision, if left unchallenged, would waste public funds and endanger the credibility of the entire electoral process.

The party also urged Nigerians and its supporters to remain calm, assuring them that legal redress would be pursued swiftly.

The leadership maintained that it remained focused on ensuring that all its candidates were given a fair chance to appear on the ballot.

It described INEC’s exclusion of its candidates as a threat to multiparty democracy in Nigeria.

The Labour Party warned that bypassing its candidates would render the bye-election process illegitimate and open to legal contestation.

It also called on civil society, the media, and the international community to take note of what it called an “orchestrated attempt” to exclude opposition voices.

The bye-election scheduled for August 16 will affect 16 Federal Constituencies and Senatorial Districts across 12 Nigerian states.

The final list of candidates released by INEC has been widely criticized by party stakeholders and election observers.

The Labour Party concluded by reaffirming its commitment to a peaceful but firm resistance, stating that Nigeria’s democracy must not be reduced to a one-party affair.

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