Labour Party crisis: Usman accuses INEC of double standards, demands recognition as interim chairman

Labour Party crisis: Usman accuses INEC of double standards, demands recognition as interim chairman

By Idun Maximus

The factional Interim National Working Committee (INWC) Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of dragging its feet in recognising her as the party’s legitimate leader despite a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, which conclusively resolved the party’s leadership crisis.

Nenadi in a strong-worded statement commended INEC for rejecting the list of candidates submitted by the Julius Abure and his “disco group.”

But, she demanded that the commission should go ahead and publish candidates nominated for the August 16 by-election and council polls,  by her team which she described as legitimate party leadership.

“So long as the Labour Party remains a fully registered political party with all requisite legal authority, INEC has a bounded duty to include our validly nominated candidates.

“Anything short of this will amount to an act of ultra vires the powers of INEC and I trust the Commission will, in the present circumstances, do the right and lawful thing,” she opined.

She criticised INEC for what she described as “inexplicable administrative delays,” noting that while the new APC national chairman’s name had already been updated on the commission’s portal, her name as well as that of the new ADC leadership remained unreflected weeks after legal and internal transitions were completed.

“These lapses are capable of eroding public confidence in INEC’s credibility and neutrality,” she warned.

Meanwhile, former national treasurer of the party, Mrs Oluchi Opara, applauded INEC’s exclusion of Abure’s nominees from the final list of candidates, calling it a bold move to uphold electoral integrity and the rule of law.