The Labour Party (LP) has apologised to its candidates for their exclusion by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from last Saturday’s parliamentary by-elections.

In a statement issued by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, the party accused INEC of a flagrant violation of the Nigerian Constitution and disobedience to the judgment of the Supreme Court by excluding a registered political party from participating in the polls.

“INEC cannot deny that it is in possession of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment, which affirmed Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as leaders of the Labour Party,” the statement read.

The party maintained that the leadership crisis allegedly orchestrated by Julius Abure was not sufficient reason to exclude its candidates from the by-elections, noting that the Supreme Court—Nigeria’s highest court—had already recognised the Usman-led Interim National Working Committee (NWC) as the authentic leadership of the LP.

“We, however, want to apologise to all our candidates who had prepared to contest the August 16 by-elections but were denied the opportunity at the last hour.

“We know that, given a level playing ground, with your sterling qualities as candidates and our party’s mass-driven ideology, you were poised to win overwhelmingly.

“We feel your pains, knowing that you prepared at great cost, endured the rigours of campaigns, mobilised assets, suffered logistical setbacks and psychological trauma, only to be denied your constitutional rights at the last minute by the tripartite conspiracy of Abure’s expired council and INEC’s delayed interpretation and execution of the Supreme Court judgment of April 4, following the scripts of their common masters,” the party said.

The LP urged its members to remain steadfast to its “unmatched masses-driven ideology for good governance,” while assuring that the caretaker committee is doing everything necessary to secure INEC’s full recognition of the Usman-led interim leadership.

The statement disclosed that the NWC is working closely with party leaders, including National Leader Mr Peter Obi, his running mate Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Abia State Governor Alex Otti, and elected LP lawmakers in the National Assembly, to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

“Our country is in dire danger on multiple fronts, from the havoc of misrule, pandemic insecurity, corruption, and reckless foreign borrowings designed to plunge both present and future generations into macroeconomic suicide,” the party stated.

The Labour Party also called on Nigerians to join hands to salvage the country’s lost opportunities, redeem her stolen progress, and reclaim “our once hard-earned Papa-Mama-Pikin political space.”

It further urged organised labour, civil society groups, and the pro-democracy community to rally behind its call for the political liberation of Nigeria.