The logo of the Labour Party (LP) has been discovered missing on the ballot papers sent by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Ondo State for the 2023 general election.
The party’s secretary in Ondo State, Agbaje Abiodun, made this known at a press briefing in Akure, the state capital on Friday.
Abiodun decried the exclusion of the party’s logo on the ballot papers to be used in the Ondo Central Senatorial District and five federal constituencies elections.
The federal constituencies are Akoko Southwest/Akoko Southeast, Ondo East/Ondo West, Akure North/Akure South, Okitipupa/Irele, and Ese-Odo/Ilaje.
He said: “There is an omission of our party logo on the ballots brought by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) elections.
“Our representatives went to INEC for sorting out for electoral materials to be sent to various wards and discovered that LP logo is missing for the Senatorial and House of Representatives where we have candidates.
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“INEC should give us opportunity to participate or postpone the election. Our candidates should be given opportunity to exercise their rights.
“We are here to express our displeasure. We expect INEC to do the needful. It was a deliberate act. I do not think if any agency of government supersedes the judiciary that gave us judgement.
“Our party primary was conducted across the federation. INEC acknowledged the letter from our party in October last year. You cannot vote without the logo of the party. The logo of the party appeared in Ondo North Senatorial District.
“Our candidates were not initially uploaded on the portal on the fault of INEC and not the party. Names of all the candidates were forwarded to INEC.”
Abiodun, however, threatened to challenge INEC’s action in court if the electoral umpire went ahead to conduct the elections without the inclusion of the Labour Party’s logo on the ballot papers.
Also speaking, the House of Representatives candidate for Akoko Southwest/Southeast Federal Constituency, Kunle Adeyeri, said the omission would disenfranchise the party’s supporters.
“On February 2, 2023, Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept the nomination of candidates of the Labour Party in 24 States.
“The court further ordered that the commission must accept the list of senatorial and House of Representatives candidates particularly in Ondo State, either manually or through its electronic nomination portal,” Adeyeri said.
A former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, is vying for the presidency on the platform of the Labour Party.
The 2023 general election has been slated for Saturday, February 25, 2023.
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