The Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed the reasons behind its refusal to issue access codes to the Labour Party for uploading candidates’ names ahead of the February 21, 2026, Federal Capital Territory Area Council election, citing the party’s protracted leadership crisis and multiple ongoing court cases.
In a statement released on Wednesday by its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Ewa-Messi, INEC said the party remained entangled in a prolonged internal dispute that had spawned several legal battles, making it impossible for the Commission to recognise any faction for the purposes of candidate nomination.
The clarification came after supporters of the Labour Party staged a protest at INEC headquarters in Abuja, accusing the electoral body of deliberately excluding the party’s candidates from the forthcoming election and demanding the access codes necessary to upload their names onto the Commission’s portal.
INEC dismissed the protest as unnecessary, insisting that the matter was already before various courts and therefore sub judice, meaning it would be inappropriate for the Commission to take any action that could be seen as prejudging the outcome of pending litigation.
“The protest was unnecessary, insisting the matter was already before different courts and therefore sub judice,” the Commission stated.
The electoral body recalled that the leadership crisis within the Labour Party had culminated in a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, which held that the tenure of the National Executive Committee led by Julius Abure had expired. That landmark ruling, INEC noted, should have settled the question of legitimate leadership within the party, but instead appeared to have deepened the factional divisions.
“Despite this clear pronouncement, the Abure-led faction purportedly conducted primaries for the August 16, 2025, bye-election nationwide and the FCT Area Council Election,” INEC said.
The Commission further noted that subsequent cases filed by the party seeking to compel INEC to issue access codes had either been dismissed by the courts or were still pending judicial determination. This legal uncertainty, INEC argued, left the Commission in a difficult position, unable to act without risking contempt of court or appearing to favour one faction over another.
INEC also addressed claims that it was acting in defiance of a court order, explaining that although a High Court in Abuja had granted an interim ex parte order on December 16, 2025, directing the Commission to upload Labour Party candidates, the order had expired after seven days and was not extended by the court.
“The interim Order consequently lapsed on 23rd December, 2025 and was not extended. Accordingly, there is presently no subsisting Court Order for INEC to act upon,” the Commission stated emphatically.
INEC maintained that it would continue to respect the judicial process and await final court decisions before taking any action on the matter, underscoring its constitutional obligation to operate within the framework of the law and uphold the integrity of the electoral process.
The Labour Party’s leadership crisis has been one of the most contentious and damaging internal disputes in Nigerian political history, with rival factions claiming legitimacy and accusing each other of illegality. The crisis has its roots in disagreements over party conventions, the conduct of internal elections, and allegations of financial impropriety and autocratic leadership.
The Supreme Court’s April 2025 judgment was widely expected to bring clarity and resolution to the dispute, but the Abure-led faction has continued to operate as though it retains control of the party’s structures, conducting primaries and nominating candidates for elections despite the court’s pronouncement on the expiration of its mandate.
The impasse has left the Labour Party, which emerged as a significant political force in the 2023 general elections, in disarray and unable to field candidates in several elections across the country. The party’s inability to resolve its leadership crisis has frustrated many of its supporters, who had hoped it would provide a credible alternative to the dominant political parties in Nigeria.
The FCT Area Council election scheduled for February 21, 2026, is an important political contest in the nation’s capital, with six area councils up for grabs. The councils—Abuja Municipal Area Council, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Bwari, Abaji, and Kwali—serve as the primary units of local governance in the Federal Capital Territory, and their chairmen wield considerable influence over the administration of local affairs and the distribution of resources.
For the Labour Party, the exclusion from the FCT Area Council election represents a significant setback, particularly given the party’s strong performance in the FCT during the 2023 presidential election, when its candidate, Peter Obi, secured a convincing victory in the territory. Many party supporters had hoped to build on that momentum and establish a strong presence at the grassroots level.
INEC’s position on the matter highlights the delicate balance the Commission must maintain between respecting court orders, upholding electoral laws, and ensuring that only properly constituted party structures participate in elections. The Commission has repeatedly emphasised that it cannot recognise or deal with any political party that does not have a legitimate and court-recognised leadership structure.
