Presidential Elections: Labour Party Faults Process, To Challenge Result

The Labour Party, LP, is criticizing the results-collection process and threatening to sue over the outcome of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, National Secretary of the Labour Party, explained that most of its members were deliberately disenfranchised through various means across the country, claiming they were more discerning in their strongholds.

While the party made inroads with high votes in most parts of northern Nigeria, he claims that in others, her members were deliberately prevented from voting, chased away violently from polling units, or had ballot papers and boxes destroyed and burned.

He said, “Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kano, Yobe and Edo states are among places where such acts were rampantly perpetrated in violation of the electoral act 2022 as amended.”

He went on to say that in some places, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, staff, and electoral materials were not deployed to areas known to be Labour Party strongholds, or were deployed late to frustrate party supporters who, psychologically, grew tired of waiting and had to leave polling units out of fear of the unknown.

He noted that INEC’s delay in uploading and announcing results, mainly where the Labour Party is already known to have taken the lead, is also concerning, emphasizing that the party believes it is a deliberate act to annoy the party and its supporters.

He urged INEC to checkmate and call its polling staff to order, as well as to impose punitive measures in accordance with the Electoral Act 2022 as amended, and vowed to challenge the outcome and final result in court.

Umar Farouk also urged party members and supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, but to be encouraged by their efforts thus far and mobilize even more for the next round of elections, as the party works to right the wrongs done to her in the Saturday presidential and National Assembly elections.