The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared that it no longer recognizes Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
This decision, made public through legal documents, claims that Abure’s continued assertion of his role as the party chairman is “illegal and unconstitutional.”
This development was revealed in a counter-affidavit filed by Ayuba Mohammed, an executive officer in INEC’s Litigation and Prosecution Department.
The affidavit was submitted as part of a response to a legal suit initiated by the Labour Party. The case, filed under the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, came about following Labour Party’s exclusion from INEC’s training program for uploading party agents ahead of the upcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
The disagreement centers around the expiration of Julius Abure’s tenure as Labour Party chairman on June 9, 2024. Salisu Mohammad, the Secretary of the Labour Party’s Board of Trustees, confirmed the expiration, which has contributed to the ongoing conflict between the party and INEC.
Despite Abure’s claim that he was re-elected as chairman during a national convention held by the Labour Party in Anambra on March 27, 2024, INEC has stated that it did not monitor or recognize this convention.
According to INEC, the leadership election violated both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, making the convention and the re-election of Abure invalid in the eyes of the commission.
INEC further explained that it only deals with political parties that have legal and recognized leadership. Since the Labour Party failed to meet the necessary legal requirements for holding a valid national convention, INEC has refused to acknowledge Abure’s leadership.
The electoral commission’s legal team, headed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Tanko Inuwa, argued that the Labour Party’s national convention did not follow the proper legal guidelines. They stated that because the party did not meet these requirements, its leadership is now considered void.
