The LP did not win a single seat in the 2019 National Assembly elections, in contrast to its remarkable success in the 2023 elections.
With six Senate seats and 34 House of Representative seats won in the National Assembly (NASS) elections on February 25, the pro-worker political organisation known as the Labour Party (LP) appears to be gradually pushing its way into mainstream politics after more than 20 years since its founding.
Prior to this point, the Party for Social Democracy (PSD), which was formerly known as the Liberation Party (LP), was comparatively unknown in the political sphere. But, with the advent of the Peter Obi phenomenon, the PSD achieved extraordinary popularity. The success of LP in the recently completed elections for the red and green chambers is undoubtedly attributable to the popularity and support of the party’s flag bearer among the vast majority of young people, or “Obidients,” who voted for the party.
At a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Saturday, Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated, “In the elections last Saturday, winners have also been declared for 423 national legislative seats while supplementary elections will be held in 46 constituencies.
“98 of the 109 Senate seats have been announced. In the Senate, seats have been gained by seven political parties so far, while eight political parties have won 325 of 360 seats in the House of Representatives.
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According to the INEC chief, the APC won 57 Senate seats for the 10th Assembly, followed by the PDP with 29; the LP with 6; the SDP with 2; the NNPP with 2, the YPP with 1, and the APGA with 1. The electoral chair reported that the APC has 162 seats in the lower house, compared to the PDP’s 102, the LP’s 34, the NNPP’s 18 seats, the APGA’s 4, the ADC’s 2, the SDP’s 2, and the YPP’s 1.
In addition, Yakubu stated that Members of the House of Representatives-elect would get their Certificates of Return on Wednesday at the same location as Senators-elect on Tuesday at the National Collation Centre (the International Convention Centre), Abuja.
The LP did not win a single seat in the 2019 National Assembly elections, in contrast to its remarkable success in the 2023 elections. Out of the 360 seats in the house, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) received more than 111 members, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) received more than 211. The minor parties split up the remaining seats.
With 64 senators, the APC held sway in the Senate, followed by the PDP with 44 and the Young Progressives Party (YPP) with one. Since then, as a result of numerous defections from the 9th National Assembly, the statistics have changed.
After switching from the PDP to the LP less than a year ago, Obi, a trader and former governor of Anambra State, was able to mobilise the support of millions of youths, particularly in southern Nigeria, and change the political landscape in Nigeria.
After winning 12 states, including Lagos and other erstwhile strongholds of the two formerly dominating parties with a total of 6,101,533 votes, Obi, 61, was declared the loser of the presidential election by INEC. After receiving 8,794,726 more votes than Obi, Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC was named the winner of the election on Wednesday. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP came in second with 6,984,520 votes.
Many observers would argue that the 2023 NASS election, in particular, was a pretty good start for the “Obidient” family, even though Obi has vowed to go to court to challenge the results of the presidential election on the grounds that he won the election, citing the failure of the electoral umpire to transmit results electronically, widespread rigging, and reports of violence and disruption at many polling units during the election.
Even though they claim to have no structure, “Obidients,” who appear to be causing a political storm in Nigeria at the moment, are determined to produce LP governors and state assembly members, especially in states where Obi won the presidential election. The governorship and state assembly elections for March 11, 2023, are just days away. At the seasonal election on Saturday, Nigerians will choose 28 state governors.
Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, who served in that position from February 2009 to February 2017, is the last and only governor that the LP has produced in the last 20 years.
Observers are confident that the days to come will go down in history.
