𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐋𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐂 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞, 𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞

…𝐕𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭

Eshioromeh Sebastian in Abuja

The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has condemned what it describes as “strange and unacceptable” the removal of the names of its National Chairman, Julius Abure, and other national executives from the official portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The party, in a statement on Saturday, insisted that the action, which follows a controversial judgment from the Federal High Court in Abuja, will not stand.

Spear News Nigeria reported earlier that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday updated its portal, removing the name of Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman and replacing it with that of Senator Nenadi Usman, who serves as the head of the party’s Interim National Working Committee.

The statement, signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, vowed that the party would vigorously challenge the lower court’s ruling at the appellate court to reclaim its legitimate position on the electoral commission’s register.

“The leadership of the Labour Party has once again reiterated that the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja as well as the removal of the names of its executive from INEC’s portal by the commission will not deter our plans for 2027,” the statement read.

It further called on Nigerians to “rise up against the strangulation and monetization of democracy in the country by a few power-drunks,” warning that the nation “may be heading for the precipice if the inordinate ambitions of some politicians are not checked.”

The party framed the court ruling and INEC’s subsequent action as a product of “impunity,” orchestrated to hand control of the party to a faction backed by Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and former senator Nenadi Usman.

Ifoh dismissed the celebration by the opposing faction over the appearance of their names on the INEC portal as “short-lived” and “pyrrhic.”

“Their victory is pyrrhic and there is nothing to celebrate because the dooms day is closer than they will imagine, which I believe will be very catastrophic for them,” he declared.

The statement also challenged the legitimacy of the Caretaker Committee instituted by the court, arguing that its appointment violated the Labour Party’s constitution and the Electoral Act due to a lack of proper notice and procedure.

Reassuring party members, Ifoh said, “For us in Labour Party, our faith is strong that the appellate court will do the right thing… We will continue with the struggle to take our party from the godfather.”

He emphasised the party’s social democratic principles, stating, “It is against the principles of the party that one man will sit at a place and gather everybody and appoint everybody from the National Working Committee to the state, down to the ward executive. That is the impunity of the highest order.”

The Labour Party has faced internal wrangling for more than two years, culminating in the legal battle that led to the court-ordered leadership change and INEC’s compliance. The party’s appeal is expected to be filed promptly as it seeks to secure its structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.