The Labour Party Nigeria on Tuesday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region of the country.
The party’s acting National Chairperson, Nenadi Usman, confirmed the decision during an interview with journalists in Abuja, saying that the zoning decision had already been settled within the party.
She said: “We have one certain decision that we have taken, and that is that we will certainly not field any aspirant from northern Nigeria.
“We have zoned the position to Southern Nigeria. So if any northerner comes now to want to contest elections, we certainly will not accept that.”
Usman, however, declined to name any potential candidate, insisting that the party would follow due democratic processes in selecting its flagbearer.
“As for who, I can’t tell you now because then it won’t be democratic anymore. Whoever the people like and vote for during the primaries… could be the candidate,” she said.
“We cannot go out there to beg people, please come and use the Labour Party to contest elections. It’s never done.”
On internal party disputes, Usman disclosed that a court case challenging the dissolution of the party’s National Caretaker Committee had been dismissed.
“To God be the glory, the case was thrown out because it lacked merit,” she said, adding that the judge “stood on truth.”
She also indicated that the party may review the date for its upcoming congresses due to a surge in membership.
“If we go ahead to stick to that date, to my mind, we are going to disenfranchise quite a number of people,” Usman said.
On security concerns, the LP chairperson revealed that the party had petitioned the police over an attack on its office, expressing confidence that those responsible would be brought to justice.
“I’m very, very sure they are going to make sure that they bring to book all those who had a hand in what happened to serve as a deterrent,” she said.
Usman also urged members to embrace the party’s digital registration process, noting that only those in remote areas without access to mobile technology should rely on manual registration.
