The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that candidates of the Labour Party (LP) will not participate in the forthcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026.
In a statement on Wednesday, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs. Victoria Eta-Messi, explained that the exclusion was due to prolonged internal leadership disputes within the party since 2024.
She noted that the matter was settled by the Supreme Court in April 2025, which ruled in Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025 (Usman v. Labour Party) that the tenure of the Barr. Julius Abure-led National Executive Committee had expired.
INEC recalled that despite the Supreme Court judgment, the Abure-led faction went ahead to conduct primaries for the August 16, 2025 bye-election and the FCT Area Council election.
The commission said the faction challenged its exclusion from the August bye-election at the Federal High Court, Abuja, but the suit was dismissed.
The judgment delivered on August 15, 2025 upheld the Supreme Court’s position that Abure was no longer recognised as LP’s National Chairman, thereby validating INEC’s decision to exclude the party.
INEC disclosed that the Labour Party subsequently filed multiple suits in different courts, including the Nasarawa State High Court, the Federal High Court in Abuja, and two divisions of the FCT High Court, all seeking orders to compel the commission to issue access codes for uploading candidates.
Interim Order Lapses
On the most recent case at the FCT High Court, Life Camp Division, INEC said an interim order was granted on December 16, 2025, directing it to upload Labour Party candidates.
However, the commission noted that “the Court expressly stated that the Order would lapse after seven days unless extended.”
INEC explained that after filing its defence challenging the competence and jurisdiction of the court, the interim order lapsed on December 23, 2025 and was not extended.
“There is presently no subsisting Court Order for INEC to act upon,” the commission stressed.
INEC said since the matter remains before the courts, it would not take any action that could undermine the judicial process.
“Given that the matter is sub judice, INEC will continue to respect the sanctity of the judicial process and await the final determination of the pending cases,” the statement concluded.
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