The candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 governorship election in Enugu State, Hon Chijioke Edeoga, has commended the resilience of candidates of the party and their supporters during Saturday’s council polls in the state.
Edeoga, in a statement on Monday, described the show of LP at the polls as “gallantry against all odds”. Though the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state won all the chairmanship and councillorship seats, Edeoga urged LP faithful “to wait for the National Assembly to amend the Nigerian Electoral Act in such a way as to make the votes of the people count ahead of 2027 general elections”.
He stated that, “We remain steadfast in our belief that the enthronement of an egalitarian government in Enugu State is only a matter of time and will take only the tests of our patience, perseverance and the sort of determination demonstrated by our candidates and passionate supporters in the just concluded LG elections.”
Describing the conduct of the election put up by the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) as a charade, Edeoga appreciated “LP patriots who sacrificed their personal ambitions for the overriding unity of the party across the state”.
Quoting him, “Although we had our suspicions about the predetermined outcome of the entire process, it was heartwarming to see our patriots join the race to test the strength of our great party in Enugu State. I am glad that the overriding strength and numerical majority incubated in the course of the 2023 national elections has not waned.
Our brave soldiers are still on the ground across the state, and in spite of the desperate and determined efforts to break our ranks, it was heartwarming to witness our men prove that Labour Party is still the dominant political party in Enugu State.”
He said LP in the state monitored the exercise, and would soon take a stand on its next line of action.
In his words, “We monitored the process and outcome of the entire electoral process as put together by the Enugu State Independent National Elections and have noted the flagrant breaches of the processes. We urge our gallant men and women to remain steadfast as we continue to gather and analyse information from across the state on the flagrant breaches of fairness and due process in the conduct of elections by ENSIEC.
“We shall be releasing the party’s formal statement on what we already suspect to be an electoral process deficient in transparency and sincerity of purpose. Our men have proved, as they did during the 2023 elections in the state, that Labour Party is the dominant political party in Enugu State.”