The Labour Party (LP) on Tuesday opted out of the Local Government election penned for April 23rd this year by the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) amidst a leadership crisis rocking the defunct party.
The party hinged its decision of boycotting the council poll on the imposition of unscrupulous members as its leaders on the order of Governor Olusegun Mimiko who had left the Labour Party after his official declaration for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Two other political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), had earlier opted out of the poll describing the forthcoming council election as a sham aimed at trapping their parties.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in the state chapter has also joined the two political parties in boycotting the council poll and advised the Governor to use the money budgeted for conducting the election to pay the State workers their entitlement and salaries.
SaharaReporters correspondent reported that both parties had earlier based their decision to boycott the council election on the lack confidence in the composition of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) headed by Prof. Gbenga Ige, who is being described has a stooge to Governor Mimiko.
The Labour Party wondered why Governor Mimiko, who claimed to have left the party for good to the PDP would still be laying claims to the leadership of the party and parading a fraudster as its spokesperson.
“Our attention has been drawn to the plan of the Governor to keep parading fifth columnists as self-styled members of the party for selfish interest,” according to the spokesperson.
“We hereby state clearly that anyone who is not known to our party cannot speak or represent our party in any capacity,” he added.
“We also wish to inform the general public that Labour Party shall not participate in the council election”, the party said in a statement issued to journalists in Akure by its State Secretary, Mrs. Ronke Akerele.