The Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Peter Ugwu, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately upload the party’s candidates for the upcoming FCT Area Council elections scheduled for February 26, 2026.
Ugwu made the appeal on Wednesday during a peaceful protest by party members at the INEC headquarters in Abuja. He expressed concern that INEC’s delay in uploading LP’s candidates was disrupting the party’s preparations for the polls.
“We conducted primaries and elected candidates for this election. Sadly, while the names of candidates of other political parties have been uploaded on the INEC portal, ours have not. INEC should correct this anomaly,” Ugwu said.
“We are here to appeal to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to upload our candidates’ names. We ask that this be done urgently so we can fully participate in the election process.”
Also speaking at the protest, Mrs. Success Onyeze, FCT Women Leader and aspirant for the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) chairmanship, along with Hon. Kingsley Okeke, a party candidate, said the LP primaries were free, fair, and credible.
They said party members were shocked to discover that their candidates’ names were missing from the INEC portal, prompting the protest to register their concerns.
“We have kept our protest peaceful because Labour Party is known for peace. We are only here to ask Prof. Yakubu to do the right thing,” Onyeze stated.
“Barr. Julius Abure remains the national chairman of our party, and we are simply demanding that our names be uploaded so we can represent our people.”
The duo also suggested that the growing popularity of the Labour Party in the FCT might be making other parties uneasy.
“It’s clear that Labour Party has strong grassroots support in the FCT. We are appealing to INEC to act in line with the constitution and ensure fairness,” they said.
In response, INEC National Commissioner Abdulahi Zuru, who received the protesters on behalf of the INEC Chairman, assured the delegation that their message would be communicated to the leadership of the commission.
