The Labour Party, LP, has approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging what it described as the wrongful exclusion of its candidate from the forthcoming Enugu North Senatorial District by-election scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to take place on 20th June 2026.
It will be recalled that the Enugu North Senatorial District seat became vacant following the unfortunate demise of the late Senator Okey Ezea of the Labour Party, who passed away on 18th November 2025.
Following the release of INEC’s timetable for the conduct of by-elections across the country, including that of Enugu North Senatorial District, the Labour Party formally notified INEC on 11th May 2026 of its intention to conduct its senatorial primary for the purpose of the by-election on 25th May 2026.
At the primary election, Amb. Simon Ejike Eze emerged as the consensus candidate of the party.
The party said it is, however, concerned that despite complying with all statutory requirements and procedural guidelines, it was denied access to upload the particulars of its candidate on INEC’s nomination portal.
“Up until the close of the submission window on 2nd June 2026, the party made several efforts, including formal protests and correspondences to the Commission, seeking the resolution of the issue, but these efforts yielded no positive result,” a statement signed by Ken Eluma Asogwa, its National Publicity Secretary, said.
The Labour Party maintained that it fulfilled every legal and administrative obligation required under the Electoral Act and INEC’s extant regulations in the nomination of its candidate.
It added, “It is both disturbing and deeply concerning that the head of Elections and Party Monitoring (EPM) in Enugu State reportedly justified his refusal to transmit the report of the Labour Party’s primary election on the flimsy ground that he was out of town on the date of the exercise and was therefore unable to observe or monitor it.
“This excuse is untenable and raises serious questions about the discharge of official responsibilities. The Labour Party cannot be made to suffer the consequences of an official’s absence, negligence, incompetence, or dereliction of duty. Electoral processes and the constitutional rights of political parties cannot be subjected to the convenience or personal circumstances of individual officers.
“If indeed the officer was unavailable, it was incumbent upon him or the INEC in Enugu to ensure that appropriate arrangements were made for the monitoring and reporting of the exercise, rather than penalising a political party that duly complied with all statutory requirements.
“In any case, the Electoral Act only requires political parties to duly notify INEC of their primaries, and it is worth restating that the Labour Party complied fully with this statutory requirement. In effect, the legality and validity of the exercise cannot be vitiated by INEC’s absence, as neither the Electoral Act nor INEC’s regulation makes INEC’s physical presence a mandatory condition for the conduct or validity of a party primary election.”
The Labour Party said that while it continues to repose confidence in the leadership of INEC under the Chairmanship of Prof. Joash Amupitan, the Commission should immediately investigate the actions taken by its senior staff in Enugu and take decisive action against any official found culpable.
“Electoral institutions derive their legitimacy from public trust, and every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the electoral process,” it added.
“It would amount to a grave injustice for the Labour Party to be denied the opportunity of presenting a candidate in an election convened to fill a vacancy created by the death of one of its serving senators.
“Such an outcome would not only undermine the rights of the party and its supporters but also amount to a double jeopardy for the party, even as it tends to diminish the democratic choices available to the people of Enugu North Senatorial District in the coming by-election.”
