On Tuesday, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the INEC to provide the LP leadership, which is headed by Julius Abure, with the necessary credentials to access the electoral system in preparation for the upcoming governorship election in Ondo State.
While handing down his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite also issued an order directing INEC to treat the Abure leadership with the same respect and consideration as any other legally recognized political party in the nation.
You may remember that in the case marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024, the Labour Party, led by Abure, had sued INEC as the only defendant.
The LP contended that they were not invited to the August refresher training that INEC organized to acquaint employees of the IT departments of all registered political parties with the process of entering agent information into the INEC site.
In connection with the Ondo governorship election scheduled for November 16, the news outlet reported that the political parties were also given access codes to use on INEC’s website to submit agent data.
Abure asserted in a supplemental affidavit that he was duly chosen to the position of acting national chairman of the LP at a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting that took place in Benin City, Edo, on March 29, 2021, after the national chairman of the LP passed away.
He asserted that the LP’s national convention was held on March 27, 2024, in Nnewi, Anambra, where he was elected to the position of national chairman, in accordance with the consensus reached at the party’s NEC meeting on April 18, 2023, in Asaba, Delta, and duly monitored by INEC.
He claimed that Olumide Akpata and Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus were candidates for governorship in the states of Edo and Ondo, respectively, while he was in charge of the party.
In his capacity as chairman of the LP, Abure said that INEC had dealt with him since his election at the Nnewi convention. One such matter was an invitation sent to him and eighteen other national party chairmen on June 28 to examine confidential election materials for the governorship elections in Ondo and Edo.
For the upcoming Ondo State election, he was surprised that INEC had not notified him in advance that political parties needed to send two representatives from their IT department to receive training on how to use INEC’s website to submit voter registration information.
Being a member of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), Abure discovered the notice of the training by INEC on August 21, as he mentioned in his statement.
He contended that it was illegal to exclude him and his party from the training on uploading agents’ information.
The plaintiff’s reliable and verifiable documented evidence was considered by Justice Nwite, who delivered the verdict, and it was determined that the INEC had failed in its “attempt to impeach the validity of the plaintiff’s leadership.”
“I am hereby ordering the defendant (INEC) to grant the plaintiff’s political party, led by Julius Abure, all the rights and privileges accorded to a duly registered political party in Nigeria,” he said.
In addition, the judge directed INEC to provide the plaintiff’s staff with refresher training on how to upload LP’s agents into the INEC site.