The newly inaugurated 29-member National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, led by Nenadi Usman, has expressed strong support for calls to withdraw from the upcoming local government elections in Anambra State.
This decision arises from concerns over alleged violations of the Electoral Act by the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC).
Last week, Labour Party spokesperson in Anambra, Theo Egbe, announced plans for a boycott of the September 28 local government poll in Awka, citing a contentious list of candidates purportedly published by ANSIEC. Egbe contended that the party did not conduct any primaries or submit candidate names to the electoral body, thus questioning the legitimacy of the candidates listed.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Usman-led committee endorsed the position of the Anambra Labour Party executives, including Chairman Chief Ugochukwu Emeh, stating that the party would not participate in the elections due to these alleged infractions. The statement read: “The National Leadership of Labour Party is aware and is in total support of the position of Labour Party, Anambra State… based on violations of the Electoral Act and the Nigerian Constitution.”
The committee further noted that the Labour Party has initiated legal action, referencing two suits challenging the electoral process: Suit No A/265/2024 against the Anambra State House of Assembly and FHC/CV/AWK/223/2024 against ANSIEC and 14 others.
They emphasized that the party had not endorsed any candidates for the contested local government elections.
Additionally, the National Caretaker Committee clarified that they have not constituted any caretaker committees in other states and reaffirmed that the Anambra party is led by Emeh and Okoli Akirika.
Attempts to obtain comments from Labour Party National Chairman Julius Abure were unsuccessful, and the National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, reiterated the party’s non-recognition of the caretaker committee, stating, “Our answer to any question related to the illegal caretaker committee remains the same. We don’t recognise or know them.”
