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The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has acknowledged that  Peter Obi is the only  presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), stressing that it is not aware of any faction in the party.

According to  INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye,  the Commission is unaware of any faction in the party.

Okoye said the commission only identifies with Julius Abure as the chairman of LP.

It was Mr. Abure that conducted the 30 May 2022 primary that produced Mr. Obi as the presidential candidate of LP for the 2023 General Election. 

“The Independent National Electoral Commission has in its docket the list and verified signatures of all the national chairmen and national secretaries of all the registered political parties in Nigeria.

“As (at) today, the commission is not aware of any faction in the Labour Party.

“The person whose name is on the docket of the Independent National Electoral Commission as the National Chairman of the Labour Party is one Julius Abure.

“He’s the one that the commission recognizes as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

“It was the same Julius Abure that utilized the provisions of Section 82 of the Electoral Act 2022 to give the Independent National Electoral Commission the statutory 21-day notice of their intention to conduct congresses and primaries for the purposes of electing their candidates at various levels.

“Now the same Julius Abure was the one that gave the commission the notice to the effect that the Labour Party was going to conduct its presidential primaries in Asaba and the Independent National Electoral Commission sent monitors to go and monitor the presidential primaries of the Labour Party that held in Asaba.

“As of today, the Commission does not have any information relating to the person who is claiming to be a factional chairman,” he said.

INEC’s official website on Thursday, the electoral body listed on the site Barrister Julius Abure, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, Mrs Oluchi Oparah, Hajiya Hadiza Kishimi and Barrister Akingbade Oyelakin as the National Chairman, National Secretary, National Treasurer, National Financial Secretary and National Legal Adviser of the party respectively.

These are executives belonging to the structure that produced Peter Obi as the party’s presidential candidate.