Court Gives Final Judgment on Exclusion of Labour Party from FCT Council Polls
- The Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld INEC’s exclusion of Labour Party candidates from the February 21 FCT Area Council elections
- Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the party’s suit was statute-barred because it was not filed within the legally required 14-day period.
- The court’s decision means the Labour Party will not participate in the upcoming FCT council polls
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Legit.ng's Muslim Muhammad Yusuf is a 2025 Wole Soyinka Award-winning journalist with over 8 years of experience in investigative reporting, human rights, politics, governance and accountability in Nigeria.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has upheld the exclusion of candidates of the Labour Party (LP) from the Area Council elections scheduled to hold on February 21 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment on Wednesday in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/2110/2025, refusing to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept or publish the party’s list of candidates for the polls.
Source: Twitter
In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that the suit filed by the Labour Party and its candidates was statute-barred, having been filed outside the mandatory 14-day period allowed by law after the cause of action arose.
As reported by Daily Trust, the judge explained that electoral matters are governed by strict timelines, and failure to approach the court within the legally prescribed period deprives the court of jurisdiction to entertain such cases.
LP challenges INEC's decision
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the party and its candidates had approached the court to challenge INEC’s decision to exclude them from participating in the FCT Area Council elections.
They argued that their candidates were duly nominated but were unlawfully excluded when INEC published the final list of contestants in September 2025.
The plaintiffs also complained that the Labour Party’s logo was omitted from the list of political parties authorised to participate in the elections.
According to court documents, the party said it wrote to the INEC Chairman on September 8, 2025, and sent a reminder on October 2, 2025, protesting the exclusion, but received no response from the electoral body.
They urged the court to intervene, arguing that without judicial relief, they would be unfairly barred from fielding candidates in the upcoming polls.
However, Justice Lifu dismissed the suit in its entirety, agreeing with INEC’s position that the action was filed outside the time allowed by law. He consequently upheld the exclusion of the Labour Party and its candidates from the February 21 Area Council elections in the FCT.
Source: UGC
Court sacks Labour Party national chairman
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Julius Abure as the Labour Party national chairman. Justice Peter Lifu of the trial court relied his judgment on the verdict of the Supreme Court that declared Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, a former Minister of Finance, as the valid national chairman of the party.
At the same time, the High Court ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should henceforth recognise the Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee as the only authority to represent the party till when the party holds its national convention and elects new leaders.
FCT Senator Kingibe dumps Labour Party
Legit.ng earlier reported that Senator Ireti Kingibe, the lawmaker representing Abuja at the National Assembly, has dumped the Labour Party for the ADC.
The senator, who has been at loggerheads with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, said he dumped the party because of the internal crisis rocking the Labour Party.
Kingibe cited the case where INEC could not recognise the leadership of either faction of the party, which could affect her in the 2027 election.
Source: Legit.ng
