The Labour Party has strongly denied reports claiming that its candidate for the upcoming Ondo State gubernatorial election, Olusola Ebiseni, has been disqualified. In response to the circulating news, the party has called the reports “false” and urged Nigerians, especially voters, to ignore them.
Earlier this week, a decision from the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court appeared to rule against Ebiseni’s candidacy. The three-judge panel concluded that the Labour Party’s appeal against Ebiseni’s nomination was valid, which led to confusion about his qualification.
However, the party’s leadership, including Ondo State Chairperson Mrs. Remilekun Ojo, has dismissed the ruling as irrelevant, stating that internal issues regarding the candidate’s nomination had already been resolved before the court’s decision.
Ojo stressed, “The reports are all lies,” and accused political rivals of spreading misleading information to destabilize the party ahead of the election.
The controversy stems from earlier court proceedings where the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in favor of Ebiseni’s candidacy, ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize him as the Labour Party’s candidate. The court found that Ebiseni had met all the necessary requirements, including paying the required fees and following proper nomination procedures.
Adding to the party’s response, Labour Party youth leader in Ondo State, Hon. Samuel Boniface, also rejected the claims of disqualification. Boniface accused opposition parties of attempting to undermine Labour Party’s strength by spreading false reports. He also revealed that he had been offered N100 million by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to defect, but he refused, reaffirming his commitment to the party’s cause.
“As the state youth leader of the Labour Party, three weeks ago, some PDP stakeholders contacted me, asking me to collapse the Labour Party structure into their party. They asked me to name any amount from N100 million, but I declined because I have a goal. I have my own future. I can’t sell my conscience like that.
“I also told them that I will never betray my followers and my party. When I contested for the House of Reps in 2023, they did the same thing, but I told them that I’d rather lose the election than sell my conscience.
“They are doing everything possible to buy the structure. They are ready to offer any amount. But I strongly believe that if we stand our ground, they won’t succeed. Everyone is tired of both APC and PDP.”
The youth leader also corroborated the LP Chairperson’s stance on the Appeal Court judgment nullifying Ebiseni’s candidacy.
He stated, “The reports we are seeing on social media are big lies. It is so disappointing because the court had already struck out the case, and the party settled the matter out of court.
“We have decided to sue some newspapers that reported our candidate is no longer on the list. If you check the INEC portal, you will see our candidate there, so who removed him?
“With the election just two days away, such reports coming out now are disruptive, so we are suing the paper.
“Why would they claim that our candidate was removed from the race? They don’t have any evidence to support that.
“The Olorunfemi who originated the whole matter personally wrote a letter stating he had stepped down for Ebiseni. We still have that record. After signing that he stepped down, our candidate compensated him with N5 million, and the National Chairman of the party also gave him N2 million. We have receipts for all transactions.
“I can assure you that everything is very much intact. We are not distracted by this misleading news.”
