After over 20 years of its formation, pro-workers political organisation, Labour Party (LP) seems to be gradually making inroads into mainstream politics as the party has got six Senate and 34 House of Representatives seats in the February 25 National Assembly (NASS) elections.
Relatively obscure in the political arena before now, LP, which was previously known as the Party for Social Democracy (PSD), gained unprecedented popularity with what has been described by many as the Peter Obi phenomenon. The milestone of LP in the just-concluded elections for the red and green chambers is no doubt credited to the fame and acceptance of the party’s flag bearer by an overwhelming youth majority known as ‘Obidients’.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Saturday, said, “In last Saturday’s elections, winners have also been declared for 423 national legislative seats while supplementary elections will be held in 46 constituencies.
“In the Senate, 98 out of 109 seats have been declared. So far, seven political parties have won senatorial seats while in the House of Representatives, 325 out of 360 seats have been won by eight political parties.”
In terms of party representation for the 10th Assembly, the INEC chief said APC won 57 Senate seats; the PDP, 29; LP, 6; SDP, 2; NNPP, 2; YPP, 1; and APGA, 1. For the lower chamber, the electoral chair said the APC has 162 seats; PDP, 102; LP, 34; NNPP, 18; APGA, 4; ADC, 2; SDP, 2; YPP, 1.
