LP FCT election exclusion confirmed as Federal High Court upholds INEC’s decision to bar party from February 21 council polls
The Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld the exclusion of Labour Party, LP, candidates from the upcoming Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, scheduled for 21 February.
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Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgement on Wednesday, declining to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to accept and publish the list of LP candidates.
The court dismissed a suit filed by the LP and its nominees against the Commission.
The Labour Party argued that INEC had unlawfully excluded its candidates and party logo from the final published list of candidates in September 2025.
The LP told the court that letters sent to INEC on 8 September and 2 October 2025, protesting the omission, were ignored.
LP contended that without judicial intervention, it would be unjustly prevented from fielding candidates in the FCT Council election.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu noted that the matter fell under pre-election litigation.
The court observed that while the suit was filed on 7 October 2025, the cause of action the exclusion by INEC occurred on 22 October 2025.
The judge cited section 285, paragraph 14(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which requires pre-election matters to be filed within 14 days of the cause of action.
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Based on this provision, the court held that the LP’s claim was not filed within the stipulated timeframe, upholding INEC’s exclusion of the party from the elections.
