The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, as the Labour Party’s genuine presidential candidate (LP).
According to Naija News, Obi won the LP presidential primary held on May 30 in Asaba, Delta State, but Jude Ezenwafor was alleged to have won another election held by a different branch of the party.
Ezenwafor, on the other hand, resigned on Thursday as the presidential candidate of the rival faction, which held its presidential election on Wednesday.
INEC spokesman Festus Okoye told TheCable that the electoral body only recognizes the presidential primary that produced Obi as the LP’s presidential candidate.
According to the electoral commission’s records, the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) is Julius Abure, according to Okoye.
He stated that the Abure-led LP followed the rules of the Electoral Act of 2022 when it came to holding party primaries and that INEC supervised the poll that produced Obi.
He said: “From the records of the commission, the national chairman of Labour Party (LP) is one Julius Abure. The same Abure gave the commission the 21 days statutory notice required for the conduct of party primary. In other words, no political parties can conduct party primaries without giving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the statutory 21 days’ notice.
“It was the same Abure that gave the commission the date for the conduct of their presidential primary which was slated to take place in Asaba.
“The commission also monitored this presidential primary in Asaba which took place on May 30, 2022. It was at this presidential primary that Peter Obi was produced as the presidential candidate of Labour Party.
“The commission has given Julius Abure the access code to the candidate nomination portal through which the name of the right presidential candidate will be uploaded into our candidate nomination portal beginning from tomorrow.
“So as far as the commission is concerned, there is no faction in Labour Party as the commission did not monitor any other presidential primary other than the one organised by the one Labour Party under the leadership of Julius Abure which took place in Asaba on May 30, 2022.”
