The Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) clinched a significant win in the Abia State local government elections, taking 15 of the 17 available chairmanship seats, while the Young Progressives Party (YPP) won the remaining two.
Notably absent from the list of winners was the Labour Party (LP), the ruling party in Abia and home to incumbent Governor Alex Otti, which failed to secure any local government area (LGA) seats.
The results were formally announced by George Chima, chairman of the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC), at the commission’s headquarters in Umuahia.
“We have fulfilled the duty for which we were inaugurated on September 5,” Chima stated, emphasizing the rigorous process involved in promoting the elections across the state. “It was not an easy task, but we went out of our way to create awareness.”
The election was described by ABSIEC as “free, fair, and credible,” with voting successfully held across all 17 LGAs.
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“I congratulate the winners and even the losers, as in any election there must be winners and losers,” Chima remarked, further commending the peace maintained throughout the election process and the cooperation of political parties.
The Labour Party’s poor performance has been partly attributed to ongoing internal conflicts. Governor Otti and LP’s national chairman, Julius Abure, have been embroiled in a power struggle over the party’s leadership, resulting in division within LP’s ranks.
As a result, several of Otti’s allies reportedly switched their allegiance to ZLP ahead of the polls. The governor and his cabinet also notably abstained from the LP’s campaign launch for the local elections.
The infighting culminated in a federal high court decision on October 8, 2024, in Abuja, where the court upheld Abure’s leadership and the legitimacy of the LP executives elected at the party’s March 2024 convention in Nnewi.
This ruling also compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Abure as the LP’s chairman, adding a layer of tension to the LP’s standing in Abia’s political landscape.
As the election concludes with ZLP’s commanding lead, political analysts suggest the outcome could signal a realignment of political affiliations within Abia State and potentially diminish LP’s influence unless the party reconciles its internal differences.