The Labour Party has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging its alleged exclusion from the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election scheduled for June 20, 2026, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Eluma Asogwa, the party said it was compelled to seek legal redress after it was allegedly prevented from submitting the details of its candidate despite complying with all electoral requirements.

The Enugu North Senatorial seat became vacant following the death of former senator, Okey Ezea, on November 18, 2025.

Ahead of the by-election, the Labour Party said it notified INEC on May 11, 2026, of its intention to conduct a senatorial primary election in line with the commission’s guidelines.

The party stated that the primary was held on May 25, 2026, with thousands of members from the six local government areas in the district in attendance. At the exercise, Ambassador Simon Ejike Eze emerged as the party’s consensus candidate.

The Labour Party alleged that despite fulfilling all statutory and administrative requirements, it was denied access to INEC’s nomination portal to upload the candidate’s particulars.

It added that several efforts, including formal protests and correspondence with the commission before the June 2 deadline for submission, failed to resolve the issue.

The party also expressed concern over reports that the Head of Elections and Party Monitoring in Enugu State allegedly declined to transmit the report of its primary election on the grounds that he was out of town and therefore unable to monitor the exercise.

Describing the explanation as unacceptable, the party argued that it could not be penalised for the absence or alleged negligence of an electoral official.

It stressed that electoral processes and the constitutional rights of political parties should not be dependent on the personal circumstances of individual officers.

The Labour Party further noted that the Electoral Act only requires political parties to notify INEC of their primaries, a requirement it said it fully complied with.

It argued that neither the Electoral Act nor INEC regulations make the physical presence of commission officials a condition for the validity of a party primary election.

While reaffirming confidence in INEC’s leadership under Chairman Joash Amupitan, the party called on the commission to investigate the actions of its officials in Enugu State and sanction any officer found culpable.

The party warned that excluding it from the by-election would amount to a grave injustice, particularly as the election is being conducted to fill a vacancy created by the death of one of its serving senators.

It added that such a decision would undermine the rights of its supporters and limit the democratic choices available to voters in Enugu North Senatorial District.

The Labour Party urged its members and supporters across the country to remain peaceful and law-abiding while awaiting the outcome of the court proceedings.