The Labour Party (LP) has called for the postponement of the National Assembly election scheduled to be conducted alongside the presidential poll next Saturday over omission of the party’s logo in the Senatorial and House of Representatives’ ballot papers.
Chairman of the party, Dayo Ekong made the call at a press conference in Lagos following receipt of the ballot papers for the National Assembly elections.
Ekong, called on INEC to reschedule the election until the party’s candidates were included on the ballots.
According to her, as Nigerians prepare to go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives, the LP is decrying the flagrant exclusion of the Labour Party National Assembly candidates on the ballot papers.
Ekong called out INEC to either correct what she described as anomaly or reschedule the National Assembly elections.
“This malicious “error” was found out this morning in Lagos, by me and my team of executive members during the routine inspection of election materials.
“It was at inspection that it was discovered that Labour Party was not listed for the election for Senate in and House of Representatives in Lagos State. This is unacceptable and a wicked way of disenfranchising Lagos electorates.
“We cannot accept this as we do not believe that INEC made a mistake but rather, a deliberate, malicious and intentional act by INEC at disenfranchising our Supporters from exercising their civic rights which is unacceptable,” Ekong said.
She added that further checks on the INEC website revealed that the list of names of Lagos Labour Party National Assembly was not uploaded “even as the list and court orders for same were duly submitted to INEC and acknowledged.”
“You will all recall how we have severally pointed out the bias displayed by the current INEC REC in Lagos State towards our Party and his increasing attacks on our leaders that have constantly pointed out these biases in the past and current onslaught on our Party.
” Is this the result of the culmination of those attacks?
“We call on all Stakeholders, Foreign Observers, Lovers of Democracy and International Community to quickly wade in and call INEC to order to do the needful,” Ekong said.
NAN reports that the event was attended by the Governorship Candidate of the party, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, other candidates and the state executive committee members.