The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has confirmed that the Labour Party will not participate in the upcoming National Assembly by-elections in Edo State, scheduled for next week.

According to INEC, a total of nine political parties successfully submitted candidates for the elections, which will fill vacant seats in the Edo Central Senatorial District and the Ovia Federal Constituency. The vacancies arose following the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Dennis Idahosa as governor and deputy governor, respectively.

Speaking at a press briefing in Benin City, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Edo State, Prof Anugbum Onuoha, clarified that the Labour Party did not officially notify the commission of its intention to contest the elections, nor was its primary monitored by INEC.

“From our records, the Labour Party and some other parties neither invited us to observe their primaries nor complied with the necessary procedures. In some cases, we arrived at venues, but the locations were shut, and no activity took place,” Onuoha explained.

This clarification comes despite earlier claims by the Labour Party that Paul Okojie had been nominated as its candidate for the Edo Central senatorial seat.

The nine political parties cleared to participate in the by-elections include Action Alliance, AA; African Democratic Congress, ADC; All Progressives Congress, APC; Allied Peoples Movement, APM; Action Peoples Party, APP; Action Democratic Party, ADP; New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and Zenith Labour Party, ZLP.

Onuoha assured residents of the commission’s readiness to conduct a free, fair and credible election, stating that non-sensitive election materials have already been deployed, and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, has been fully configured.

He also revealed that, of the 719,504 registered voters across the seven local government areas where the by-elections will take place, 101,617 Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, remain uncollected.

Addressing calls from the PDP for his redeployment, the Edo REC dismissed the concerns and urged the media to support INEC in ensuring a credible process.

“Even if your relative is appointed to INEC, he cannot compromise the system. The structure of the commission makes that impossible,” he said.