…Says; it won’t accept FCT candidate list from his team
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, declared that the Supreme Court has decisively settled the leadership tussle in the Labour Party in Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025 (Usman v. Labour Party) delivered on April 4, 2025.
INEC specifically noted that the Supreme Court held that the tenure of the National Executive Committee led by Mr Julius Abure had expired, effectively stripping him of any authority to act as National Chairman of the party.
The Electoral body therefore insisted that it will not recognise or honour any list of candidates submitted by the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party for the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Election.
INEC which stated this in a statement following a protest by supporters of the Labour Party at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja over alleged exclusion of the party’s candidates from the forthcoming FCT Area Council Election scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026, noted that the crisis stemmed from prolonged internal leadership disputes within the Labour Party.
INEC expressed concerns that despite the Supreme Court’s judgment, the Abure-led faction went ahead to conduct primaries for the August 16, 2025 bye-elections nationwide, including the FCT Area Council Election.
The commission emphasised that the actions of Abure-led team was invalid.
It also noted that the Abure-led faction had challenged its exclusion from the bye-election at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1523/2025 which was dismissed by the court on August 15, 2025, as it affirmed the Supreme Court’s position and also upheld INEC’s decision to exclude the faction from the election process.
INEC particularly stated that the Labour Party subsequently filed multiple suits across different courts seeking orders to compel it to issue access codes for uploading its candidates for the FCT Area Council Election.
According to INEC; “These include cases before the Nasarawa State High Court, the Federal High Court Abuja, and two divisions of the FCT High Court”.
The commission further said that although an interim ex-parte order was granted by an FCT High Court, Life Camp Division, on December 16, 2025, directing it to upload Labour Party candidates, it however said that the order lapsed after seven days and was not extended.
INEC said; “The order consequently expired on December 23, 2025, leaving no subsisting court order for INEC to act upon.
“As it stands, there is presently no valid court order compelling the Commission to issue access codes or upload candidates for the Labour Party in the FCT Area Council Election,” it stressed.
INEC also said that the matter remains sub judice and assured that it would continue to respect the judicial process while awaiting the final determination of the pending cases.
INEC therefore reaffirmed its commitment to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and its regulations and guidelines, and insisted that political parties must comply with democratic principles and the rule of law in managing their internal affairs.
