‎BY AHMED AKANBI

‎The Labour Party, LP, has said it successfully uploaded the names of all its duly nominated candidates for the Presidential, Vice Presidential and National Assembly elections before the closure of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, nomination portal on July 14, 2026.

‎In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Eluma Asogwa, the party described reports alleging it failed to meet the deadline as “patently false, misleading, and existing only in the imagination of the purveyors of that fake news.”
‎”For the avoidance of doubt, the Labour Party successfully uploaded the names of its Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates on 10th July, 2026, four clear days before the close of the INEC nomination window on 14th July, 2026.

‎”The process was completed seamlessly and in full compliance with the Commission’s guidelines,” the statement said.
‎The party faulted a media organisation for publishing the report without verifying with the Labour Party leadership, noting that the story was allegedly sourced from an “anonymous INEC official.”

‎”This raises legitimate questions about the professional responsibility of the media organisation concerned and whether the publication was intended to serve some ulterior political objective rather than the public interest,” Asogwa said.
‎He added that INEC has already published its timetable for the release of the final list of validly nominated candidates for the 2027 general elections, and that the Commission’s publication will confirm the names of all duly nominated LP candidates.

‎”We, therefore, urge our teeming members, supporters and the general public to disregard the fake report in its entirety. It bears all the hallmarks of idle beer parlour gossip masquerading as journalism,” the statement read.

‎Asogwa said those unsettled by the party’s “renewed strength, growing acceptance and increasing momentum” should focus on preparing for the electoral contest “rather than resorting to crude propaganda and discredited tactics.”