By-elections: Abure-led LP faction protests at INEC over candidates’ exclusion

Members of the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) protested on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

The protesters, who went to the INEC office in company with some civil society organisations, opposed the recent decision of the electoral umpire to exclude the names of LP candidates from the forthcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections and by-elections fixed for about 12 states across the country on August 16.

They danced and sang in front of the office as they also displayed placards with various inscriptions.

They sang, “Nigeria Go Better When Labour Party Don Dey Rule”; “We Have Decided to Follow Labour, No Going Back.”

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, “Stop killing Democracy in Nigeria,” “INEC Should Respect the Rule of Law; INEC Should Not Kill the Greatest Opposition Party in Nigeria; Supreme Court Judgement Favours Julius Abure”; and “Caretaker Committee is Not a Political Party.”

The protesters stormed the INEC office barely 24 hours after another faction of the LP, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, dissociated itself from the protest, saying they were unknown to the party.

The Spokesman to Senator Usman, Mr Ken Asogwa, in a statement, had alerted INEC and security agencies to the protest, saying that the planners did not have the backing of the party.

He said the LP “categorically states that the said protest is not sanctioned by the Labour Party. The organisers are unknown to the party’s leadership, and the action lacks the approval and backing of the party.”

Asogwa added, “The public is hereby put on notice that anyone participating in or promoting this protest is doing so without the consent of the Labour Party and should be seen as an impostor.

“It would be recalled that INEC recently rejected the illegitimate list of candidates for the upcoming national bye-elections and local council elections submitted by the former chairman of the party, Barr. Julius Abure and his unlawful group.

“The Labour Party received that decision with relief, knowing that INEC – as a responsible electoral umpire – would eventually proceed to accept and publish the authentic list submitted by the current, lawful leadership of the party.”

The camp advised “INEC to remain steadfast and continue to disregard the desperate antics of these individuals whose tenures expired since 8th June 2023 – and whose expiration was expressly affirmed by the Supreme Court in its judgment of 4th April 2025.

But the protest did take place on Wednesday as planned.

Speaking at the venue on behalf of the protesters, the Deputy National Youth Leader of LP, Dr Barry Avotu-Johnson, asked INEC to obey the judicial pronouncement, which he said recognised Abure as the chairman of the party.

He stated, “We are here to demand that the National Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, should respect the court Order recognising Barr. Julius Abure as National Chairman of our great party.

“We are also demanding that he uploads the names of our validly nominated candidates for the forthcoming bye-elections.

“This is not asking for too much. Justice and the respect for the rule of law, which is the hallmark of democracy all over the world, Nigeria shouldn’t be an exception.”

Another leader of the party from the FCT, Mr. Peter Ugwu, defended the primaries conducted by the party in the territory, insisting that the candidates produced must be listed for the upcoming polls.

“We are here to demand for our rights.

“We in the FCT conducted primaries and elected candidates for this election. Sadly, while the names of candidates of other political parties have been uploaded on the INEC portal, ours have not. INEC should correct this anomaly by doing the needful”, Ugwu added.

Similarly, Mr. Peter Piper, speaking on behalf of the civil society organisations, urged INEC to uphold the tenets of democracy and the rule of law.

“This is about democracy and the rule of law. An injury to one is an injury to all”, he said

INEC’s National Commissioner, Abdulahi Zuru, who addressed the protesters on behalf of the chairman, assured them that their message would be duly delivered to the leadership of the electoral umpire.

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