2023: Ebonyi Labour Party crisis deepens as party allegedly submits illegal candidates to INEC
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The crisis engulfing the Ebonyi State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) took a new turn on Friday when the party reportedly submitted the names of substituted National Assembly Candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The House of Representatives aspirant for Ezza North-Ishielu Federal Constituency, Dr. Ogbonnaya Peter Okey, disclosed this to News Band in a memo he personally signed.
Dr. Okey informed this afternoon that Labour Party has submitted names of substituted National Assembly candidates to INEC.
This, according to him, is in clear breach of the Electoral Act 2022.
He noted that the actors are possibly utilising criminal behaviours to achieve this aim and that it will do a major damage to the Labour Party brand in Ebonyi State if affirmed.
Explaining further what transpired, he said:
“It is being alleged that Labour party submitted these names without adhering to some of the provisions of the Electoral, in particular, Section 33 which provides that the only conditions for substitution are withdrawal or death of a candidate.
”It is being alleged that fake withdrawal letters have been used as the basis for LP to substitute the candidates.
”However in an affidafit by the original candidates that emerged from the party primaries conducted in June 2022 (witnessed by INEC), the candidates confirmed that they have not withdrawn at all.
”The potential implication is that purported withdrawal that may have been used to substitute them are fake and fraudulent, which is in clear breach of the Electoral Act and constitutes both criminal and electoral offense.”
He cited another breach which may jeopardize the party’s chances at the election.
He said: “There is also another fraudulent behaviour by the party, in that the party collected money from several aspirants but did not communicate to them about conduct of primaries but went ahead to submit names to INEC.
”For example, 3 persons paid N15 million each for the governorship slot in Ebonyi State but two of the candidates, Engr Sunday Opoke and Engr Fidelis Nwankwo have been ignored.
”The same party that collected money from them is trying to submit the name of their preferred candidates without conducting primaries as required by law.
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”The same scenario applies to the National and State Assembly positions as well.
”For example, on the instruction of the party, I paid N5 million for nomination and expression of interest form and since then, I have been ignored by the party.
”I will forward the receipt of payment as evidence.” See below:
It could be recalled that in the first part of the two-part report, titled “Save Ebonyi State Labour Party, members send SOS to Peter Obi (part 1)“, Dr. Okey, an NHS Consultant Psychiatrist (UK) and Member of medics4PeterObi in Diaspora, as well as a member of Peter Obi Support Network (POSN),
I have previously called on His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi to intervene in Ebonyi State Labour Party to help in arresting this ugly situation. Peter Obi movement and the various support groups around the world cannot afford to allow this reckless and fragrant breach of the rules and laws to persist.
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