2023: Boost For Obi-Datti As Court Compels INEC To List Candidates In 24 States For Elections

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to capture the Labour Party (LP) nominees in 24 states as the party’s candidates for the 2023 general elections.

Justice Inyang Ekwo passed the judgment in favor of LP on Thursday in about 24 separate applications against the electoral umpire.

THE WHISTLER gathered that the candidates were for gubernatorial, Senatorial and House of Representative slots.

The states in contention include Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, Benue, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Katsina, Bayelsa, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Borno, Osun, Adamawa and Cross River States among others.

Recall that Labour Party had in 2022 submitted fresh lists to INEC in view of the withdrawal of their candidates in 24 states and after conducting substitution nomination primary elections.

According to LP, in a bid to upload their names to the INEC website, the umpire said its nomination portal was down and had since declined including the names forcing the party to institute the legal action.

In his judgement, Justice Ekwo held that INEC cannot decline such request because it was made available to the Commission beyond 90 days to election as stipulated by the Electoral Act and the 1999 constitution.

Subsequently, the judge ordered INEC to list LP’s candidates in the affected states manually or through electronic means.