The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says
Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra, is the authentic presidential candidate
of Labour Party (LP).
Festus Okoye, INEC commissioner for information and voter
education, disclosed this on Thursday.
Obi won the LP presidential primary, which took place on May
30 in Asaba, Delta state.
The presidential primary that produced Obi was conducted by
the Julius Abure-led faction of the party.
But on Wednesday, Jude Ezenwafor, former chairman of LP in
Anambra, was declared the winner of a presidential primary organised by the Calistus
Okafor-led faction.
Prior to Obi winning the primary Okafor, in a suit marked
FHC/ABJ/CS/1636/2021, and filed before a federal high court in Abuja,
challenged the legality of the Abure-led faction.
In a ruling on May 30, Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge,
ordered that the LP and some of its executives be served with a fresh suit
challenging the party’s leadership, after which the matter was adjourned till
June 30 for further mention.
Speaking with TheCable, Okoye said the electoral umpire only
recognises the presidential primary that produced Obi as the LP’s presidential
candidate.
Okoye noted that Abure-led LP complied with the provisions
of the Electoral Act, 2022 on conducting party primary, adding that the
election that produced Obi was monitored by INEC.
“From the records of the commission, the national chairman
of Labour Party (LP) is one Julius Abure. The same Abure gave the commission
the 21 days statutory notice required for the conduct of party primary. In
other words, no political parties can conduct party primaries without giving
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the statutory 21 days
notice,” he said.
“It was the same Abure that gave the commission the date for
the conduct of their presidential primary which was slated to take place in
Asaba.
“The commission also
monitored this presidential primary in Asaba which took place on May 30, 2022.
It was at this presidential primary that Peter Obi was produced as the
presidential candidate of Labour Party.
“The commission has given Julius Abure the access code to
the candidate nomination portal through which the name of the right
presidential candidate will be uploaded into our candidate nomination portal
beginning from tomorrow.
“So as far as the commission is concerned, there is no
faction in Labour Party as the commission did not monitor any other
presidential primary other than the one organised by the one Labour Party under
the leadership of Julius Abure which took place in Asaba on May 30, 2022.”
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