The newly inaugurated 29-member National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, led by former minister Senator Nenadi Usman, has expressed strong support for calls to withdraw from the upcoming local government election scheduled for September 28 in Anambra State. This decision stems from alleged violations of the Electoral Act by the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC).
In a prior announcement, the Labour Party spokesperson in Anambra, Theo Egbe, indicated the party’s intention to boycott the election, citing concerns over a controversial list of candidates released by ANSIEC. Egbe claimed that the list was not generated by the Labour Party and emphasized that no primaries had been conducted to nominate candidates. Furthermore, the party asserts that they did not submit any candidate names to the electoral body.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Usman-led caretaker committee endorsed the position taken by Anambra LP executives, including Chairman Chief Ugochukwu Emeh. The statement highlighted the party’s objection to participating in the local government election due to the alleged breaches of both the Electoral Act and the Nigerian Constitution.
“The National Leadership of Labour Party fully supports the stance taken by Labour Party Anambra State, affirming our non-participation in the Anambra State Local Government Election on September 28, 2024, due to constitutional violations,” the statement declared.
The Labour Party is currently involved in legal proceedings challenging the electoral process. Two significant cases are underway: Suit No A/265/2024 against the Anambra State House of Assembly and Suit No FHC/CV/AWK/223/2024 against ANSIEC and 14 others. The party insists it did not endorse any candidates for the upcoming election.
The National Caretaker Committee also confirmed that no caretaker committees have been formed in any state across the nation, reiterating that the party in Anambra is under the leadership of Chief Ugochukwu Emeh and Okoli Akirika for official records.
Attempts to obtain comments from the Labour Party National Chairman were unsuccessful. Additionally, the National Publicity Secretary responded with limited commentary, reaffirming that any inquiries regarding the legitimacy of the caretaker committee would be met with a unified stance: “We don’t recognize or know them.”
