Labour Party has called on its members in the State not to allow their courage to be dampened over the non-inclusion of the names of their candidates for the next year elections in the recently released names shortlisted by Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) as it is not the final list.
Labour Party in a release signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi said the list recently released by INEC is provisional, insisting that LP will contest all the elective positions in the next general elections in Ogun State and Nigeria.
The Party said the ommision is an aberation which is going to be challenged in the court of law, adding that the Party has already began the legal fireworks.
“Contrary to what ICT Abuja INEC claim that we were late in submitting names of Our candidates through their unconstitutional electronic submission platforms which is not known to the electoral act , we have approached the same court because Labour Party is a law abiding Party, we kept to electoral guidelines, and the Constitution also gave us 90 days window to election before the door of substitution could closed”, Arabambi said.
The Labour Party spokesman commended the Ogun State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC and the EPM Department for a job welldone as he said “they are absolved of any complicity on this issues which solely arose as a result of the electronic transmission method of submission adopted by the ICT Department of Abuja INEC against section 29 sub (1)(2)(3)of Electoral Act”.
Labour Party maintained that by Section 29 of Nigeria Electoral Act 2022, the submission of list of candidates and their affidavits by political parties should follow the following rules:
(1) Every political party shall, not later than 180 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the Commission, in the prescribed Forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party.
(2) The list or information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a State,
or Federal Capital Territory, indicating that he or she has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.
(3) The Commission shall, within seven days of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest the election.
Comrade Arabambi averred that from the above, the stand of LP is clear.
Arabambi also insisted that the Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on the authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Sec 3: If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
He therefore maintained that the electoral act is a creation of the constitution and thus superior to any guidelines that may be promugated by the Abuja ICT department of INEC which in this instance run contrary against the electoral act and is therefore null and void to the extent of it’s inconsistency
I made reference to Section 31 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022 in respect of withdrawal of candidates
“A candidate may withdraw his or her candidature by notice in writing signed by him and delivered personally by the candidate to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such withdrawal to the Commission not later than 90 days to the election.”
“We submitted all names electronically in lines with INEC guidelines even though it’s against the electoral act and constitution before the deadline, we did the needful as laid down by the law, so the omission is unwarranted”.
“We are in court and the matter will be determined by the court this October in Abuja .”
The National Publicity Secretary there after directed all LP candidates that emerged through the party primaries from the Governorship candidate, Mr Kehinde Shogunle and his deputy, the Ogun west Senatorial candidate, Hon Odunjo Leye, Hon Tolulope Philips( Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Hon Rotimi Rahman Arugbo ( Ado odo Ota Federal Constituency, Hon Afolabi Toluwalade ( Yewa south Ipokia Federal Constituency amongst others to roll out their drums and start their campaigns assuring that Justice will be done very soon to the issue.
