The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of yielding to “pressure” and has become “a partisan weapon” now working with opposition figures.
The allegation was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity, Abayomi Arabambi, the party demanded the immediate resignation of INEC chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu, alleging the commission had entered into an “unconstitutional political coalition” with opponents.
“This action, carried out without due process, legal justification, or even the basic courtesy of official communication to our party, is not only a blatant violation of all democratic principles but a distressing indication of INEC’s descent into partisan manipulation,” the statement read.
The Labour Party described the situation as “a state of notoriety, gross irresponsibility, wholesome disgrace” that was “morally reprehensible, unethical and harmful to the public good.”
The controversy stems from INEC’s exclusion of Labour Party candidates from the 16 August bye-elections. The party claims this decision has “no legal and moral foundation,” insisting that “the Supreme Court’s ruling of April 4, 2025 did not, in any way, authorise INEC to invalidate candidates submitted by the Labour Party’s legitimate National Working Committee.”
According to the statement, the judgment merely directed the party to resolve leadership matters internally.
The Labour Party expressed outrage at how the disqualification was handled, noting: “INEC chose to bypass official channels and instead allowed Mr Peter Obi’s known affiliate to announce the disqualification in the media.” It sarcastically “congratulated INEC on the appointment of a new INEC National Commissioner for Information who shamelessly published the unconstitutional exclusion.”
“This is not neutrality; it is collusion,” the statement continued, alleging “a coordinated attempt to undermine the Labour Party’s democratic rights.” The party warned that “if INEC can arbitrarily decide which faction of a party it recognises, then no opposition is safe from politically motivated exclusion.”
The statement included four key demands: “We demand that INEC immediately reverse this unlawful decision… We demand the EFCC to investigate Legal Departments and Elections Process Monitoring Departments… We demand the Code of Conduct tribunal to order the declaration of assets of all staff… Furthermore, we call for a full investigation into this blatant act of unconstitutional disenfranchisement.”
Concluding with its strongest demand, the party declared: “The time for INEC National Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu to resign IS NOW,” using capital letters for emphasis.
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