The Labour Party (LP) has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s bye-elections, describing the exercise as a “mockery of democracy” and a “travesty of justice.”
In a statement issued by Ken Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to the party’s interim national chairman, Nenadi Usman, the LP alleged widespread rigging, vote buying, and violence during the polls.
“What transpired across Nigeria yesterday in the name of bye-elections was nothing short of a mockery of democracy, a travesty of justice against the Nigerian people, and a dangerous dress rehearsal of what may befall us in 2027 if citizens do not act swiftly to halt this brigandage,” the party said.
It claimed that in states including Kaduna, Anambra, Ogun, Oyo, and Kano, the elections were marred by irregularities allegedly perpetrated by agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with the alleged complicity of security agencies and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“If INEC cannot conduct minor off-season elections with integrity, one shudders at the thought of how it intends to manage the nationwide polls of 2027,” the statement read, accusing the commission under Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu of failing to redeem its image after the 2023 general elections.
The LP urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to “rescue Nigeria’s democracy from imminent collapse,” warning that the conduct of the bye-elections must not be allowed to set the standard for future polls.
