Peter Obi: INEC Ratifies LP Presidential Candidacy Amidst Reported Factionalisation

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also reiterated that Peter Obi is the recognised presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Com­missioner for Information and Voter Education, made this clarification on Thursday, June 10.

He further stated that the commission was unaware of any faction in the party, revealing that INEC only identifies with Julius Abure as the chairman of the Labour Party.

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According to Okoye, Abure conducted a May 30, 2022, primary that produced Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of LP for the 2023 general elections.

The INEC scribe explained;

The Independent National Elec­toral Commission has in its docket all the national chairmen and national secretaries of all the registered political parties in Nigeria, the list and verified signatures.

As (at) today, the commis­sion is not aware of any fac­tion in the Labour Party.

The person whose name is on the docket of the Inde­pendent National Electoral Commission as the national chairman of the Labour Party is Julius Abure.

He’s the one that the com­mission recognises as the na­tional chairman of the Labour Party.

The commission further narrated the processes that were put in place by Abure prequel to the conduct of the LP’s presidential primaries.

It was the same Julius Abure that utilised the pro­visions of section 82 of the Electoral Act 2022 to give the Independent National Elector­al Commission the statutory 21-day notice of their intention to conduct congresses and primaries for the purposes of electing their candidates at various levels.

Now the same Julius Abu­re was the one that gave the commission the notice to the effect that the Labour Party was going to conduct its pres­idential primaries in Asaba and the Independent Nation­al Electoral Commission sent monitors to go and monitor the presidential primaries of the Labour Party that held in Asaba.

As of today, the commis­sion does not have any infor­mation relating to the person who is claiming to be a faction­al chairman.

Peter Obi emerged as the pres­idential candidate of LP at its national convention as well as presidential primary in Asa­ba, Delta State on May 30, af­ter other aspirants, including Pat Utomi, stepped down for him.

However, another faction of LP held another primary on Wednesday, June 8 in Abuja, producing Jude Ezenwafor, a former Senior Special Assis­tant on Political Matters to Peter Obi as its presidential candidate.