Ogun Governorship Election, Effort In Futility - Labour Party

Michael-Azeez Ogunsiji

ABEOKUTA - Labour Party has declared that, the governorship election scheduled to hold tomorrow Saturday in Ogun State will be effort in futility unless the electoral commission, INEC include it's candidate in the list of the guber contestants.

LP has also vowed to challenge the fairness and credibility of the governorship poll in Ogun state if the name of its candidate is not included as part of the contestants.

Speaking with journalists yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the legal adviser of the Party, Barr. Monday Mawah wondered how INEC could conduct such a crucial election and deliberately excluding name of the governorship candidate in the list of the contestants.

Emphasizing that, such is against the principle of fair play in a guber poll, Mawah also stressed that INEC has gone foul of the electoral act, section 138, sub section 1 paragraph D.

Supporting his claim with further appropriate section of the 1999 constitution as amended, Mawah also vowed to challenge the outcome of the Saturday's, March 9, 2019 governorship election results in the state at the court of competent jurisdiction.

He however wondered why INEC would field LP's candidate for the national and state assemblies elections, but deliberately excluding the party's governorship candidate from the guber contest.

"first and foremost I want to say it's quite unfortunate that INEC has put us in this position. I don't want to speculate but the truth is that that they had seen the bright chances of Labour Party of emerging winner in the Governorship election not because of anything, but because this is the only party I think across the 36 state of the federation that decided the Governorship slot to a female and as a result of that almost all the women in Ogun State are behind our party.

"But we were shocked when we were told that INEC has illegally removed the name of our party from the list and thereby making it impossible for our party candidate to be voted for in this coming election. I don't know who must have done that to us because I know INEC wouldn't have deliberately done that.

"After the election on Saturday we are heading to the election tribunal because issue of exclusion is a very fundamental thing and let me quickly say that my sympathy goes to anyone who will emerge as winner in the purported  election that is going to hold on Saturday. I call it purported because the election is not suppose to hold because INEC, having excluded one of the parties on  illegal ground make whatever they are going to do an exercise  in futility. 

"I will have advised  that nobody  should  go out on that day to vote because I am confident  that  the governorship  election  tribunal will nullifying  the election because  there is no reason  whatsoever  why  our candidate should  be excluded. More so,  all efforts  to reach INEC to get the  reason  why they took the step  proved  abortive. All the details  of our candidates that we submitted  to INEC  for the elections, including the governorship, we have them  with  us. Why is that it was the governorship that was omitted, the House of Assembly  was not omitted, that means there is something  fishy. 

"I don't  know  who is scared of Labour  Party  of Ogun  state. Something  is fishy here and when  we get to court, the issue will be resolved.

"Section 138 (1) paragraph  D of the Electoral  Act makes a ground upon  which  an election can be nullified. The section  empowered tribunal to nullify elections on the ground of exclusion so the issue  of exclusion is very  fundamental so we are very  confident  that  we will  get justice  at tribunal and as a matter  of fact we will be the first party that will fight  for election and win in Ogun."

In his reaction, the Administrative Secretary of INEC in Ogun State, Mr. James Oludele Popoola said, the state chapter of the commission does not have information to that, but wondered why Labour Party discovering that in less than 48 hours to the election.

Popoola said,  "I don't have information to that. Just 48 hours to the election, is Labour Party discovering?", Popoola queried.