The newly formed 29-member National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, led by former minister Senator Nenadi Usman, has endorsed calls for members to boycott the upcoming local government election in Anambra State. This decision comes amid allegations of violations of the Electoral Act by the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC).
Last week, Labour Party spokesperson in Anambra, Theo Egbe, announced plans to withdraw from the local government poll scheduled for September 28. Egbe pointed to a controversial list of qualified LP candidates published by ANSIEC, claiming it did not originate from the party. He emphasized that the Labour Party had not conducted any primaries or submitted candidate names to the electoral body.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Usman-led committee affirmed support for the Anambra LP executives, chaired by Chief Ugochukwu Emeh, in their call for a boycott of the local government election. The statement declared, “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 Nigerian Constitution.”
The committee highlighted ongoing legal challenges, including Suit No A/265/2024 and Suit No FHC/CV/AWK/223/2024, which contest the election procedures and affirm that the Labour Party did not sponsor any candidates for the Anambra LG election.
The statement further clarified that the Labour Party has not constituted any caretaker committee in any state, confirming that the party in Anambra is led by Chief Ugochukwu Emeh and Okoli Akirika.
Attempts to obtain comments from LP National Chairman Julius Abure were unsuccessful. The National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, also refrained from providing extensive remarks, stating, “Our answer to any question related to the illegal caretaker committee remains the same. We don’t recognise or know them.”
