Victor EzejaAs the leadership crisis in the Labour Party lingers, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is yet to make any decision concerning who the national chairman and national secretary are.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, made this known in a statement released in Abuja.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis comes as the Julius Abure-led faction and Senator Nenadi Usman’s caretaker committee are locked in a battle over which faction has the authentic mandate to lead the Labour Party. Each of the factions claims that the 4 April judgment of the Supreme Court was in their favour.
Abure’s faction had on Wednesday through a statement by the National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, announced indefinite suspension of six prominent members of the party, including Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, and Senator representing FCT, Ireti Kingibe, citing anti-party activities.
The affected persons, however, dismissed the pronouncement.
Reacting, Nenadi Usman issued a statement on Thursday, saying the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party has resolved that Abure should be suspended following his activities which were considered as destabilizing the party.
Usman asserted that by setting aside the earlier rulings of two lower courts, which recognised Abure as the national chairman, the Supreme Court has effectively determined that Abure is no longer legally eligible to remain in office.
She urged INEC to urgently show transparency and credibility by removing the name of Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as national chairman and secretary, respectively, from its website.
READ ALSO:Labour Party Crisis: Usman Urges INEC To Remove Abure’s Name From Web Portal
However, Oyekanmi said the electoral body is still studying the apex court judgment and would make its decision public.
He also said the Commission had yet to take any decision on the national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Our attention has been drawn to some media reports claiming that the commission has recognised certain persons as the national chairman and national secretary of LP,” Oyekanmi stated.
“The reports also inferred that the commission has restored a particular individual as the national secretary of PDP, referring to the listings on the commission’s official website.
“However, the reports are false and misleading. The commission has not made any decision in respect of either the LP or PDP.”
The INEC chairman’s chief press secretary further stated that the names of the national officers of LP had previously been uploaded to INEC website, following a court order, not related in any way to the latest judgment of the Supreme Court.
READ ALSO: Labour Party Crisis: Abure Knows His Tenure Is Over – Otti
“In the same manner, the name of the national secretary of PDP on the same website was neither deleted nor reinstated.
“As a law abiding institution, the commission is carefully studying the judgment of the Supreme Court on the LP and will communicate its decision to the public in due course,” Oyekanmi added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
