By Olayinka Owolabi
The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) on Wednesday staged a protest at the National Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding the inclusion of its candidates for the forthcoming area council elections on INEC’s website.
Joined by members of some civil society organisations, the faction accused INEC of wrongfully omitting its candidates from the published list.
Placards carried by the protesters bore inscriptions such as: “INEC should respect the rule of law,” “Supreme Court judgment favours Julius Abure,” “Caretaker committee is not a political party,” and “Stop killing democracy in Nigeria.”
Addressing the crowd, the party’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Barry Avotu Johnson, urged INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu to comply with the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed Abure as the party’s national chairman.
However, the leadership of the Labour Party, in a statement on Tuesday, disowned the protest, insisting it was neither authorised nor recognised by the legitimate organs of the party.
The statement, signed by Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to Interim National Chairman Nenadi Usman, described the protesters as “impostors” and “political impersonators.”
“This protest is allegedly being organised by some unknown individuals purportedly operating under the banner of the Labour Party. We wish to categorically state that the said protest is not sanctioned by the Labour Party. The organisers are unknown to the party’s leadership, and the action lacks the approval and backing of the party,” the statement read in part.
The Labour Party has been embroiled in a leadership crisis that deepened in July when the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), chaired by Governor Alex Otti, appointed Usman as Interim National Chairman and Darlington Nwokocha as Interim National Secretary.
