On Thursday, the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for omitting its logo in the Senatorial and House of Representatives ballot papers ahead of Saturday’s General Elections.
Pastor Dayo Ekong, the LP Chairperson in Lagos State, at a news conference in Ikeja, called INEC to reschedule the election until the party’s candidates were included in the ballots. Ekong described the omission as an “unacceptable and a wicked way of disenfranchising Lagos electorates.”
She stated that during the routine inspection of election materials, the party’s executive members discovered that Labour Party was not listed for the election for the Senate and House of Representatives in Lagos State. Ekong called on stakeholders, foreign observers, lovers of democracy, and the international community to quickly wade in and call INEC to order.
The LP Chairperson added that further checks on the INEC website revealed that the list of names of the Lagos Labour Party National Assembly was not uploaded “even as the list and court orders were duly submitted to INEC and acknowledged.”
NAN reports that the event was attended by the Governorship Candidate of the party, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, other candidates, and the state executive committee members.
This is not the first time INEC has been accused of excluding parties from ballot papers. The commission has been called upon to ensure that all eligible parties are included on the ballot to provide a free and fair election.
As Nigerians prepare to go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives, all parties must be allowed to participate in the election process.
