The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the exclusion of the Labour Party (LP) from the February 21, 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections to the party’s prolonged internal leadership crisis and multiple pending court cases.

The commission made the clarification following a protest by Labour Party supporters at its Abuja headquarters on Monday.

The demonstrators accused INEC of deliberately excluding the party’s candidates and demanded access codes for uploading their particulars.

They described the exclusion as a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the party, despite a subsisting court order in its favour.

But in a statement on Wednesday, signed by its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, INEC said the controversy surrounding the Labour Party’s participation stemmed from a Supreme Court judgment which nullified the authority of the Julius Abure-led National Executive Committee.

According to the commission, the apex court, in Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025 (Usman v. Labour Party), delivered on April 4, 2025, held unequivocally that the tenure of the Abure-led leadership had expired.

INEC recalled that the Labour Party had earlier challenged its exclusion from the August 2025 bye-elections at the Federal High Court, Abuja, but the suit—FHC/ABJ/1523/2025 (Labour Party v. INEC)—was dismissed on August 15, 2025, with the court affirming that Julius Abure was no longer recognised as the party’s national chairman.

The statement said, “On Monday, January 5, 2026, some supporters of the Labour Party protested at the INEC Headquarters, Abuja, complaining about the exclusion of their candidates for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Election scheduled for Saturday, 21st February, 2026, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and demanded the issuance of access code to upload its candidates for the election.

“In response, the Commission wishes to state that the Labour Party has been enmeshed in prolonged internal leadership disputes since 2024, which culminated in the judgment of the Supreme Court in Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025 (Usman v. Labour Party) delivered on 4th April 2025.

“In that decision, the apex court unequivocally held that the tenure of the Barr. Julius Abure-led National Executive Committee had expired. Despite this clear pronouncement, the Abure-led faction purportedly conducted primaries for the August 16, 2025 bye-election nationwide and the FCT Area Council Election.”

The commission further disclosed that the party subsequently filed multiple suits in different courts seeking orders compelling INEC to issue access codes for the upload of its candidates for the FCT council polls.

These, according to INEC, included cases at the Nasarawa State High Court, the Federal High Court in Abuja, and two divisions of the FCT High Court, a development INEC described as an attempt to obtain conflicting judicial orders.

INEC noted that while the FCT High Court, Life Camp Division, granted an interim ex parte order on December 16, 2025, directing it to upload the Labour Party’s candidates, the order expressly lapsed after seven days and was not renewed.

The commission added, “The Labour Party again approached the FCT High Court, Jabi Division, in another fresh Suit No. CV/4792/2025 and filed a motion seeking an order compelling INEC to issue access codes to its candidates for the FCT Area Council election.

“The matter was adjourned, after INEC had filed its reply, to January 15, 2026, for the hearing of the motion. One would have expected the party to wait for the hearing of this motion, but the Labour Party filed another suit in Suit No. CV/4930/2025 before the FCT High Court, Life Camp Division, seeking the same relief to compel INEC to grant access codes to upload its candidates for the FCT Area Council election.

“By an order ex parte in this latest Suit No. CV/4930/2025, the FCT High Court sitting in Life Camp, Abuja, granted an interim order on December 16, 2025, directing the Commission to upload the names and particulars of the Labour Party candidates for the FCT Area Council Election.

“The court expressly stated that the order would lapse after seven days unless extended. Upon being served with the originating processes, INEC promptly filed its defence, challenging the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court. The interim order consequently lapsed on December 23, 2025, and was not extended. Accordingly, there is presently no subsisting court order for INEC to act upon.

“Given that the matter is sub judice, INEC will continue to respect the sanctity of the judicial process and await the final determination of the pending cases.

“The Commission reiterates its unwavering commitment to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as its regulations and guidelines, and will continue to hold political parties accountable to democratic standards and the rule of law in the conduct of their internal affairs.”