INEC excludes Labour Party from Edo by-elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the Labour Party will not be part of the upcoming National Assembly by-elections in Edo State, scheduled to hold next week.

According to INEC, only nine political parties successfully submitted candidate nominations for the elections, which are being conducted to fill the vacant Edo Central Senatorial and Ovia Federal Constituency seats.

These vacancies followed the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Dennis Idahosa as the state’s governor and deputy governor respectively.

Speaking during a press briefing in Benin City, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo State, Prof. Anugbum Onuoha, clarified that the Labour Party failed to notify INEC of its intention to participate and did not have its primary monitored by the commission.

“From our records, the Labour Party and some other parties neither invited us to observe their primaries nor complied with the necessary procedures. In some cases, we arrived at the venues, but the locations were shut, and no activity took place,” Onuoha said.

This official clarification counters earlier claims by the Labour Party that it had nominated Paul Okojie as its candidate for the Edo Central senatorial seat.

The nine parties cleared to participate in the elections are Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

Prof. Onuoha assured the public of INEC’s readiness to conduct a credible poll, noting that non-sensitive materials have been deployed and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has been fully configured.

He disclosed that out of the 719,504 registered voters in the seven local government areas where the by-elections will be held, 101,617 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) remain uncollected.

Responding to calls from the PDP demanding his redeployment, the Edo REC dismissed the claims and called on the media to support INEC’s efforts for a transparent election.

“Even if your relative is appointed to INEC, he cannot compromise the system. The structure of the commission makes that impossible,” he added.