Politics

2023: Court Orders INEC To Accept Labour Party Candidates In 24 States

Published

3 years ago

February 2, 2023

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept the nomination of candidates of the Labour Party (LP) in 24 States of the federation for the purpose of the 2023 general elections.

The court ordered that the electoral body must accept the list of the candidates in the 24 states either manually or through its electronic nomination portal.

Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo in his judgments in 24 different suits brought before him by the Labour Party held that INEC violated sections 31, 33 and 36 of the Electoral Act 2022 in rejecting Labour Party candidates in the affected states on the ground of non functionality of its nomination portal.

The 24 states affected by the Court order are Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, Benue, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Ekiti States.

The rest are Katsina, Bayelsa, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Borno, Osun, Adamawa and Cross River states.

The Labour Party had last November conducted substitution nominations for its candidates who withdrew from the 2023 general elections in the affected states.

The withdrawals were communicated to INEC by the National Chairman and National Secretary of the party along with notification of the October 27 date to conduct substitution nomination primary elections.

However, at the point of uploading the fresh candidates names, INEC claimed that its nomination portal was faulty and declined to accept the candidates list manually promoting the 24 legal actions.

Justice Ekwo in the judgment said that the evidence of the Labour Party through exchanged letters with INEC in the nomination issue was credible and proceeded to attach probative value to it.

The judge held that the consequences of non-functional electronic nomination portal cannot be visited on the Labour Party.

Justice Ekwo agreed with the Labour Party that nomination and submission of candidates list cannot be rejected by INEC from any party untill 90 days to the general elections.

The judge said that the time the Labour Party sought to submit a list of its candidates in the 24 states was more than 90 days to the 2023 general elections, and hence, within time allowed by law.

Justice Ekwo held that INEC was bound to accept the Labour Party’s candidates list manually once its electronic nomination portal is faulty.

The judge subsequently ordered INEC to open its website for the purpose of allowing the Labour Party to submit a list of its candidates or accept the same manually with immediate effect for the purpose of the 2023 general elections.

Politics

Oshiomhole Blasts Amaechi, Says He Built Railway To Niger Republic Instead Of Port Harcourt

Published

16 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

Senator Adams Oshiomhole on Monday criticised former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, accusing him of poor judgment and misplaced priorities during his tenure in office.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Oshiomhole said: “Rotimi Amaechi is the most terrible. Look at the choice of language. A guy who shut down Rivers judiciary because he wanted to appoint his own personal favourite as chief judge of Rivers State. Once he couldn’t have his way, the Rivers State judiciary was shut down for almost two years.

“Look at the crisis in the railway system that he superintendent over for eight unbroken years. He was unable to get the priorities right, playing to the gallery.

“Now he rather constructed a rail, not to Kano, not to Port Harcourt, where he came from, but to Niger Republic.

“Which goods are we sending to Niger Republic? He was a minister. And if you were a minister under Buhari, you will be fair to him, life or death, that Buhari gave anyone he appointed free hand to do the job he assigned to you. That is what Buhari was.”

Politics

State Police Can No Longer Be Delayed – South-West Governors

Published

16 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

The Southwest Governors Forum is set to create a South West Regional Security Fund to strengthen responses to insecurity in the region.

This initiative aims to address the rise in kidnapping, banditry, illegal mining, and unregulated interstate migration.

The decision was reached during a meeting of the six governors on Monday at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, Oyo State.

In the communiqué issued at the end, it was agreed that all six states would support coordinated operations, joint intelligence sharing, and rapid-response initiatives across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states.

The governors also emphasised that the establishment of state police “can no longer be delayed.”

They applauded President Bola Tinubu for security interventions in states affected by kidnappings, while urging sustained attention on regional development.

Politics

JUST IN: Atiku Officially Joins ADC, Registers With Party In Adamawa

Published

23 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially registered as a member of the African Democratic Congress in Adamawa State, signalling a major development in Nigeria’s opposition politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The registration took place on Monday, following Atiku’s announcement to ADC supporters and stakeholders in Adamawa over the weekend.

Abdul Rasheeth, an aide to the former vice president, had confirmed the development in a statement obtained by The PUNCH.

Videos and photos from the event showed Atiku’s convoy arriving in the town to the cheers of supporters, who beat drums, sang, and carried placards with his image.

Atiku waved and greeted well-wishers from his vehicle as he received his ADC membership card.

In a brief X (Formerly Twitter) post on his handle shorty after his registration, Atiku wrote,” It’s official. -AA”

This move formalises Atiku’s association with the coalition party, which he had previously endorsed in July as a platform for opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Babachir Lawal, to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Until now, Atiku and other opposition leaders had delayed their formal registration with the ADC.

The former vice president’s registration is expected to strengthen the party’s profile and consolidate the opposition ahead of the next general election.