Labour Party: INEC Publishes Abure’s Lists For Guber Contests, Jettisons Apapa’s Faction

Despite the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday, May 12, 2023 gave the Julius Abure led-executive committee a stamp of official recognition as it published the names and particulars of candidates produced by it for the scheduled November 11, 2023 Governorship election in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states.

The Commission, while recognising the mainstream leadership led by Julius Abure, totally ignored the Lamidi Apapa-led faction laying claim to the Party’s leadership.

Abure, who is the authentic National Chairman of the Labour Party is being challenged by Lamidi Apapa whose members of the Party are accusing him of working for the All Progressives Congress (APC), to destabilise the Labour Party.

While the Party primary for the Governorship tickets conducted by Abure-led executive committee was monitored by officials of INEC, those conducted by the Apapa-led team did not have any official of the Electoral Commission as demanded by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

So far, INEC has upheld and published the name of Mr. Udengs Eradiri as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party for Bayelsa State, Mr. Okeme Adejoh for Kogi State and Mr. Athan Nneji for Imo State. The trio are all members of the Abure-led executive committee of the Labour Party.

On the other hand, all the candidates produced by the Apapa-faction of the Party namely Joseph Ikechukwu Ukaegbu for Imo, Col. Vincent Enemona Abu for Kogi and Chief Diekivie Ikiogha for Bayelsa were all rejected by INEC.

Basking in the euphoria of being recognised by INEC, the embattled LP National Chairman, Abure has declared his intention to appeal the FCT High Court’s refusal to decline jurisdiction over the allegation of forgery preferred against him by the Lamidi Apapa Faction.

Abure, specifically told members of a Civil Society Organisation, ‘Vote Must Count International Initiative’, who visited him in Abuja that he does not believe the Party and himself can get justice with the trial judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Hamza Muazu.

He stressed that the Court of Appeal would look at the case dispassionately and without bias with a view of giving him and the Labour Party the needed justice over the leadership crisis rocking the party.