Interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party (LP) has raised concerns over the exclusion of the party from the legislative by-elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Abure-led faction of conspiracy.
The interim national publicity secretary of the Nenadi Usman faction of the LP, Tony Akeni, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the exclusion was a plot by the sacked Julius Abure-led NWC and APC to deny Nigerian voters the opportunity to elect credible representatives.
“The Labour Party believes that the leadership crisis orchestrated by Julius Abure is not enough grounds to exclude the party from the by-elections. The Supreme Court had previously recognized Senator Esther Nenadi Usman-led Interim NWC as the authentic leadership of the party,”he said.
The party’s NWC accused the APC of orchestrating the exclusion as they feared that Labour Party candidates would defeat their standard bearers in the elections.
Akeni also criticised INEC for allegedly not possessing the Certify True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgement affirming the Usman-led NWC.
The party spokesperson apologised to all its candidates who had prepared to contest the by-elections but were ultimately denied the opportunity.
“We call on all Nigerians to join hands in salvaging the country from the current challenges of misrule, insecurity, corruption, and economic instability. Also we invite the organized labour, civil society groups, and pro-democracy advocates to join us in the fight for political liberation,” he added.
