By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) led by Assistant Director, Election and Political Parties Monitoring Department (EPM), Omoregie Uhunmhangho, has carried out a verification exercise at the National Secretariat of the Labour Party (LP).
The exercise was carried out at LP’s National Secretariat Utako in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and the team was presented for verification the books of the party by the Executive Members of the party led by its National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure.
The leader of INEC team, Uhunmhangho said the exercise was part of the annual rituals to carry out physical authentication of the party Secretariat and its Executives but that it had failed to do similar exercises in the past three years due to crowded activities at the commission.
Said he: “What we are doing now is just to verify that you have the people you say you have. We want to see them in person.”
“The document that we want, I can gladly say that you have done well already, so this verification exercise is not a witch hunt. It is just to confirm that you are complying with the electoral act and the constitution”.
The EPM Assistant Director also said the exercise “is an annual thing but we have not done it in like three years because INEC has a tight schedule. We discovered that we have to do it in 2023/2024 before political parties take us to court.”
Responding to the team in the presence of some of the 36 State Chairmen of the party present alongside the National Executives of the Party, the National Chairman of the Party, Comrade Julius Abure said he is glad the commission has seen that the national leaders of the party are on the ground.
He said, “I welcome the INEC officials who are here for their ritual which is their statutory responsibility to monitor political parties to ensure they are alive.
“Am happy, they (INEC) have seen that we are solidly on the ground, I am sure if we survive the 2019 screening, that 2023 will be a walk over for us” because we have recorded substantial growth.
“Over the past few years, Nigeria has been yearning for alternatives and a third force in the political space today, without tears on our cheeks, I want to say that we are present in the Nigerian political space as a veritable force to reckon with.
“In 2019, we had only one elected member after the general election and we survived the scrutiny of the verification exercise, while other political parties were deregistered, the Labour Party was among the 18 political parties that survived.
“Today, we have one governor; we have 6 senators in our kitty after the court took two from us.
“We are participating in the rerun in Plateau and Lagos and several other places, these are places where the Labour Party is strong. READ ALSO:
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“I am sure after the 3rd of February bye-election, the Labour Party would have more senators in her kitty across the country. We have a house of assembly members.
“I can boldly state that the Labour Party has come of age and is the darling party of the youth. The youth and women who are most vulnerable to the exploitative party in Nigeria are in the Labour Party,
“Therefore I believe the Labour Party would come out stronger and better. Am sure that INEC is proud of us and am sure that moving forward we are going to do better.” Abure concluded.
