The Independent National Electoral Commission has explained why it refused to issue access codes to the Labour Party to upload names of candidates for the February 21, 2026, Federal Capital Territory Area Council election.
In a statement on Wednesday by its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Ewa-Messi, the Commission said the party remained embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis, which had also resulted in multiple court cases.
Supporters of the Labour Party had staged a protest at INEC headquarters in Abuja, accusing the Commission of excluding the party’s candidates from the election and demanding access codes required to upload their names.
INEC said the protest was unnecessary, insisting the matter was already before different courts and therefore sub judice.
The Commission recalled that the leadership crisis in the party culminated in a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, which held that the tenure of the National Executive Committee led by Julius Abure had expired.
He said, “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.”
INEC further noted that subsequent cases filed by the party seeking to compel the Commission to issue access codes had either been dismissed or were still pending in court.
It explained that although a High Court in Abuja granted an interim ex parte order on December 16, 2025 directing it to upload Labour Party candidates, the order expired after seven days and was not extended.
“The interim Order consequently lapsed on 23rd December, 2025 and was not extended. Accordingly, there is presently no subsisting Court Order for INEC to act upon,” INEC stated.
INEC maintained that it would continue to respect the judicial process and await final court decisions before taking any action on the matter.
The development compounds a controversial situation ahead of the FCT council polls, in which the Labour Party was completely shut out of the final list of candidates released by INEC in September 2025.
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