BY AHMED AKANBI

The Julius Abure faction of the Labour Party, LP, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of applying selective obedience to court orders, saying the commission uses different standards in similar legal cases.

The party, however, commended the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, for successfully uploading its candidates’ details to the INEC portal after what it described as an initial attempt by the commission to block access.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, LP said it welcomed INEC’s eventual recognition of legal process in the NDC case, but was disturbed that the commission did not apply the same principle to the Labour Party’s leadership dispute.

Ifoh questioned why INEC ignored a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for Stay of Execution filed by the Julius Abure-led leadership after a Federal High Court judgment recognised the Nenadi Usman-led interim executive.

“The position of the law is that once there is a motion for stay and a notice of appeal, all parties are expected to wait until the motion for stay is determined.

“But in the case of the Labour Party, INEC refused to observe that judicial principle and was in a hurry to obey that order,” he said.

Ifoh argued that INEC relied on a pending appeal and stay to allow NDC to upload candidates, yet denied LP the same consideration.

According to LP, the Abure-led leadership filed an appeal and a motion for stay immediately after the January 21, 2026 Federal High Court judgment.

Despite this, Ifoh alleged that INEC removed the party’s leadership from its portal on January 29 while the applications were still pending.

He called the action unlawful and inconsistent with how the commission handled the NDC matter.

Ifoh also accused INEC of ignoring a separate Federal High Court order to amend its electoral timetable to comply with the Electoral Act, after filing an appeal.

He further alleged that the commission deepened LP’s crisis by declaring Abure’s National Working Committee tenure expired, despite receiving statutory notices and convention reports, and by delaying concerns until the tenure had lapsed.

The Labour Party warned that democracy would be endangered if public institutions pick which court orders to obey.

“All judicial decisions should be treated equally under the rule of law. Actions tolerated against one political party today could eventually affect others,” Ifoh said, urging Nigerians to note what it described as inconsistent legal application.