Why Labour Party barred from uploading candidates for FCT council polls — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified why it refused to issue access codes to the Labour Party for uploading candidates for the February 21, 2026, Federal Capital Territory Area Council election.

In a statement on Wednesday, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Ewa-Messi, said the party remains mired in a prolonged leadership crisis, which has generated multiple court cases.

Supporters of the Labour Party had recently protested at INEC headquarters in Abuja, demanding access codes to submit candidates, accusing the Commission of excluding the party from the election.

INEC described the protest as unnecessary, noting that the matter is already sub judice.

The Commission recalled that the Supreme Court, on April 4, 2025, ruled that the tenure of the National Executive Committee led by Julius Abure had expired.

Despite this, the Abure-led faction allegedly conducted primaries for the August 16, 2025, bye-election and the FCT Area Council election.

The Commission added that subsequent court actions by the party to compel INEC to issue access codes were either dismissed or still pending.

An interim High Court order granted on December 16, 2025, lapsed after seven days and was not extended, leaving INEC without a subsisting court order to act upon.

As a result, the Labour Party was entirely excluded from the final list of candidates for the FCT council polls released by INEC in September 2025, making it the only party among 16 registered parties without a candidate on the ballot.

Rival factions, backed by political figures including Peter Obi and Alex Otti, continue to contest control of the party.

INEC affirmed it will respect the judicial process and await final court rulings before taking further action.