The National Working Committee of the Labour Party has approved the commencement of the sale, submission of expression of interest and nomination forms for the Edo election from January 25 to February 11.

The opposition party announced this in a communiqué on Wednesday after its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting.

The party exempted female aspirants from paying for expression of interest form only.

The party’s communiqué stated, “Arising from the meeting of the NWC of the Labour Party under the chairmanship of Julius Abure, the leadership of the party took a far-reaching decision on the Edo election.

“This is with regards to the guidelines for the conduct of congress and primaries to elect candidates for the Edo gubernatorial election. They include the NWC’s approval of sale of forms to all interested aspirants from the state who are Nigerians or resident in the state.”

The party added, “NWC approved that the fees for expression of interest shall be five million naira only (N5,000.000.00) while the nomination form shall be twenty-five million naira only (N25,000.000.00).”

It explained that the NWC approved indirect primary elections, wherein ward and local government congresses would hold to elect the party’s flag bearers.

The NWC also approved February 14 for screening aspirants, February 22 for the primary election, and February 23 for resolving disputes or appeals arising from the primaries, if any.

The NWC commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which carried out its verification duty, and the party’s leadership for complying with INEC’s rules and regulations.

It said the NWC passed a vote of confidence on its national chairman, Julius Abure, for effectively piloting the affairs of the party and giving it a proper direction.

“The NWC noted the milestone the party achieved in the recent general election where it won one governorship, seven Senate, 34 House of Representatives and numerous State House of Assembly seats.

“It regretted that the number depleted after losing some seats through the courts while also hoping to gain more seats in the coming days through rerun elections,’’ stated the communiqué.

It also mentioned that the NWC pledged its loyalty to the party’s national leader and its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for his commitment to the party despite the electoral challenges.

(NAN)