Labour Party Commends NDC Candidate Upload, Accuses INEC of Selective Obedience to Court Orders

The Labour Party has commended the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for successfully uploading its candidates’ data to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal, while raising concerns over what it described as INEC’s selective obedience to court proceedings and judicial orders.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party warned that Nigeria’s democracy could be endangered if the electoral commission is allowed to determine which court orders to obey and which to disregard.

The party noted that while it welcomed INEC’s decision to recognise the legal implications of pending appeals and motions for stay of execution in the NDC matter, it was troubled that the same principle was allegedly not applied in the case involving the Labour Party.

Ifoh argued that the law requires parties to maintain the status quo once a notice of appeal and a motion for stay of execution have been filed.

“The position of the law is that once there is a motion for stay and a notice of appeal, all parties are expected to wait until the motion for stay is determined before any other actions are taken,” he said.

According to him, the Labour Party had filed a notice of appeal and a motion for stay of execution after a Federal High Court judgment that recognised the interim executive led by Nenadi Usman. Despite this, he alleged that INEC proceeded to remove the Julius Abure-led executive from its portal.

“INEC removed our name from the portal when the motion for stay and a notice of appeal were all pending. That on its own was illegal,” he stated.

The party’s spokesman questioned why INEC allegedly adopted one standard in dealing with the NDC and another in handling the Labour Party’s internal leadership dispute.

“Why is INEC not following the rule of law? Why is the commission embarking on selective obedience to court judgments? It chooses orders to obey and the ones not to obey,” he added.

Ifoh further alleged that INEC had previously declined to comply with a Federal High Court order concerning the amendment of its electoral timetable on the grounds that the commission had already filed an appeal.

He also accused the electoral body of contributing to the crisis within the Labour Party by allegedly claiming that the tenure of its executives had expired despite being duly notified of the party’s convention and receiving the required reports and documentation.

“We are raising this question because when it happened to Labour Party people were quiet, thinking that it would not get to them. But an injury to one should be an injury to all. What they allow to stand today will definitely hunt others tomorrow,” he said.

The Labour Party called for equal treatment of all judicial decisions and urged INEC to uphold the rule of law and maintain impartiality in its dealings with political parties.