LP to boycott council polls in Anambra East

The Labour Party (LP) in Anambra East Local Government Area (LGA) has threatened to boycott the September 28 Local Government Elections in the area.

The LG Chairman and Secretary of the party, Mr. Chidi Chinwuba and Mr Onyeka Aghadiuno, made the threat in a statement issued in Awka and made available to newsmen on Friday.

The statement urged the public to disregard any list published by the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) that included any LP candidate in the LGA.

According to the statement, the list did not originate from the party.

It explained that LP neither conducted any primaries to nominate candidates nor submitted any names to ANSIEC.

The two party chieftains, therefore, charged the commission to delist any flag bearer purportedly on LP’s platform for the polls in the area.

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They further threatened legal action against the commission should it go ahead to publish any LP candidates’ names in the area for the exercise.

“LP Anambra East Chapter wishes to disassociate itself from the September 28 LG elections in the state.

“The party, through its rightful leadership, has issued a statement that we, as a party, are not participating in the election.

“The general public is hereby urged to disregard the list published by ANSIEC as the names attached to the LP in Anambra East did not originate from the party,” they stated.

They further warned that “anyone dealing with these individuals does so at their own risk,” adding that the party in the area would not be held liable for any negative occurrences.

They alleged that including the party’s candidates for the polls by ANSIEC “suggests a desperation to involve parties in an already compromised election.

“Those responsible for this are mischief makers seeking to deceive the innocent and law-abiding citizens of Anambra East LGA and Anambra State,” the statement added.

It further disclosed that the state chapter of the party was already in court, challenging the election process, hence, will not participate in the exercise.

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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ANSIEC Chairperson, Mrs Genevieve Osakwe, had on September 11 released the final list of qualified candidates for the council polls.

Osakwe said that the candidates and political parties for the elections should begin their campaigns, adding that the list of candidates had been published as required by the Electoral Act.

She urged the public to visit ANSIEC headquaters or the LGAs to verify the names of the candidates contesting for various positions.

She assured Anambra electorate that the election would be free, fair and credible.