2023: Court orders electoral commission to accept, publish names of Labour Party candidates in Ogun state
The Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and publish the names of the candidates under the platform of the Labour Party(LP) in Ogun State
Penpushing reports that, Governorship candidate of the party, Kehinde Sogunle and his Deputy, Dr Aishat Keshinro, had earlier approached the court asking that their candidature should be accepted by the electoral commission.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it is recalled had refused to publish the names of all the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), claiming that the party submitted the list of the candidates late.
Penpushing further reports that, the Labour Party (LP), however, insisted that it conducted its primary elections and also submitted the names of its candidates within the 90 days’ time frame provided by the Electoral Act.
The suit reference number: FHC/AB/CS/243/2022 between Labour Party, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi, and eight others as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) as respondent, prayed the court for an order to compel the commission to accept, recognise and publish the names of candidates submitted by the party.
Penpushing also reports that, Justice Akintayo Aluko delivering judgement ordered electoral umpire to accept and immediately publish the names of the three senatorial, nine House of Representatives and 26 state House of Assembly candidates of the party on its website.
The judge further affirmed that the Labour Party (LP) conducted its primaries and submitted the list of its candidates before the expiration date given to political parties, hence the need for their names to be admitted and published on the approval list
Penpushing reports that counsel to the party, Monday Mawah, stated that, with this judgment the party Senatorial, House of Representatives and all the 26 State House of Assembly candidates have now been given clearance to contest in the election.
“Today, the court answered the question raised by Labour Party in the affirmative that we are still within time to conduct primaries and then the court thereafter ordered that INEC should accept the list of candidates from the Federal to the State level to be published immediately to enable those candidates participate like every other candidate and to enable Labour Party to participate like every other party in the forthcoming election.
“The Governorship candidate is not part of the case. The candidates that we got judgement for in this case are the three senatorial candidates, House of Representatives and all the assembly in the state. His (governorship candidate’s) case is still in the court and he is doing it with his own lawyer, so it is not part of the ones we handled for the party.”
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