The Labour Party has approached the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, challenging the alleged wrongful exclusion of its candidate from the Enugu North senatorial district by-election scheduled for June 20.

The party’s spokesman, Ken Asogwa, said this in a statement on Monday.

The Enugu North senatorial district seat became vacant following the demise of Okey Ezea of the party on November 18, 2025

Mr Asogwa expressed the party’s concern that, despite complying with all statutory requirements and procedural guidelines, it was denied access to upload its candidate’s particulars on INEC’s nomination portal.

“Up until the close of the submission window on  June 2, the party made several efforts, including formal protests and correspondences to the commission, seeking the resolution of the issue, but these efforts yielded no positive result,” he said.

The spokesman insisted that the party fulfilled every legal and administrative obligation required under the Electoral Act and INEC’s extant regulations in the nomination of its candidate.

“It is both disturbing and deeply concerning that the head of elections and party monitoring in Enugu state reportedly justified his refusal to transmit the report of the Labour Party’s primary election on the grounds that he was out of town on the day the exercise was conducted.

“This excuse is untenable and raises serious questions about the discharge of official responsibilities. The Labour Party cannot be made to suffer the consequences of an official’s absence, negligence, incompetence or dereliction of duty. Electoral processes and the constitutional rights of political parties cannot be subjected to the convenience or personal circumstances of individual officers,” he said.

Mr Asogwa maintained that if the officer was unavailable, it was incumbent upon him or  INEC in Enugu to ensure that appropriate arrangements were made for the monitoring and reporting of the exercise. According to him, INEC should not be penalising a political party that duly complied with all statutory requirements.

Mr Asogwa stated that the electoral act only requires political parties to duly notify INEC of their primaries, adding that the party complied fully with this statutory requirement.

He said that the legality and validity of the exercise could not be vitiated by INEC’s absence, as neither the Electoral Act nor the commission’s regulation made its physical presence a mandatory condition for the conduct of a party primary election.

While restating the party’s confidence in INEC under the chairmanship of Joash Amupitan, he, however, called on the commission to investigate the actions taken by its staff members in Enugu and take decisive action against anyone found culpable.

“Electoral institutions derive their legitimacy from public trust, and every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

“It would amount to a grave injustice for the Labour Party to be denied the opportunity of presenting a candidate in an election convened to fill a vacancy created by the death of one of its serving senators. Such an outcome would not only undermine the rights of the party and its supporters, but it tends to diminish the democratic choices available to the people of Enugu North senatorial district in the coming by-election.

“As the party places its confidence in the impartiality and wisdom of the Nigerian judiciary, it urges all its members and supporters in Enugu North and across the country to remain calm while the matter is being determined by the courts,” Mr Asogwa said. 

(NAN)