Enugu North senatorial by-election: Labour Party drags INEC to court over exclusion

The Labour Party, LP, has filed a suit with the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that its candidate was wrongfully excluded from the Enugu North Senatorial District by‑election, which INEC has scheduled for 20 June 2026.

The vacancy in the Enugu North seat arose after the death of Labour Party Senator Okey Ezea on 18 November 2025.

After INEC released its timetable for by‑elections nationwide, the LP formally notified the commission on 11 May 2026 of its intention to hold a senatorial primary on 25 May 2026.

At that primary, Ambassador Simon Ejike Eze was chosen as the party’s consensus candidate.

Despite meeting all statutory and procedural requirements, the LP claims it was denied the ability to upload its candidate’s particulars to INEC’s nomination portal.

“Until the submission window closed on 2 June 2026, the party made several efforts, including formal protests and correspondences to the Commission, seeking resolution of the issue, but these efforts yielded no positive result,” said Ken Eluma Asogwa, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, in a signed statement.

The LP maintains that it fulfilled every legal and administrative obligation under the Electoral Act and INEC’s regulations in nominating its candidate.

It added, “It is both disturbing and deeply concerning that the head of Elections and Party Monitoring (EPM) in Enugu State reportedly justified his refusal to transmit the report of the Labour Party’s primary on the flimsy ground that he was out of town on the date of the exercise and was therefore unable to observe or monitor it.”

“This excuse is untenable and raises serious questions about the discharge of official responsibilities. The Labour Party cannot be made to suffer the consequences of an official’s absence, negligence, incompetence, or dereliction of duty. Electoral processes and the constitutional rights of political parties cannot be subjected to the convenience or personal circumstances of individual officers,” the statement continued.

“If indeed the officer was unavailable, it was incumbent upon him or INEC in Enugu to ensure that appropriate arrangements were made for the monitoring and reporting of the exercise, rather than penalising a political party that duly complied with all statutory requirements.”

“In any case, the Electoral Act only requires political parties to duly notify INEC of their primaries, and it is worth restating that the Labour Party complied fully with this statutory requirement. In effect, the legality and validity of the exercise cannot be vitiated by INEC’s absence, as neither the Electoral Act nor INEC’s regulation makes INEC’s physical presence a mandatory condition for the conduct or validity of a party primary election.”

The LP says it remains confident in INEC’s leadership under Chairperson Prof. Joash Amupitan, but urges the commission to investigate the actions of its senior staff in Enugu and take decisive action against any official found culpable.

“Electoral institutions derive their legitimacy from public trust, and every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the electoral process,” the party added.

“It would amount to a grave injustice for the Labour Party to be denied the opportunity of presenting a candidate in an election convened to fill a vacancy created by the death of one of its serving senators.”

“Such an outcome would not only undermine the rights of the party and its supporters but also amount to a double jeopardy for the party, even as it tends to diminish the democratic choices available to the people of Enugu North Senatorial District in the coming by‑election.”