The Labour Party and the Nigeria Labour Congress have signalled a major grassroots realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections, unveiling plans to mobilise workers nationwide as polling unit agents to safeguard the party’s votes.
The announcement was made during a one-day Strategic Multi-Level Stakeholders Summit held in Abuja, where party leaders and organised labour representatives resolved to deepen membership registration and validation, leveraging union structures as the backbone of the party’s grassroots operations.
The renewed strategy draws lessons from the 2023 presidential election and the subsequent legal battle. Former LP presidential candidate Peter Obi had challenged the outcome of the disputed poll, which was won by the ruling party. Obi, campaigning as a political outsider who galvanized many young and first-time voters, came third behind Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party finished fourth.
A central grievance for the Labour Party was the handling of Form EC8A — the official polling unit result sheet — and disputes over electronic transmission of results. Party leaders have repeatedly noted that limited grassroots coordination and the failure to deploy a structured network to collect result sheets weakened their tribunal case.
Addressing stakeholders, Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, emphasised the need to build a robust structure anchored on labour institutions.
“When the LP National Working Committee approached the NLC and TUC leaderships, we highlighted that the foundation of a political party is knowing your members at the grassroots,” she said. “Without this, proper planning is impossible. In 2023, not using these institutions led to the challenges we faced. Our goal now is to register members from the polling unit level using the NLC, TUC, and all unions. This ensures we are on the path to success.”
Usman stressed the importance of creating a reliable membership database and deploying registered members as polling unit agents to prevent disputes during elections, particularly regarding electronic result transmission. Collecting Form EC8A at every polling unit, she said, is indispensable for defending the party’s votes.
“Having our members registered in our data and deployed as polling unit agents ensures no one can question the results during elections. In 2023, the lack of this structure meant we could not fully prove the number of votes we claimed,” Usman added, urging state chairmen and union leaders to implement clear strategies for mass registration and validation.
Stephen Okoro effort, Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, represented by his Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu, emphasised unity and internal cohesion as crucial for the party’s electoral success. He noted that elections are won not just during the voting period but through consistent engagement, credible governance, and sustained connection with the electorate.
With 2027 still on the horizon, the summit highlighted a strategic recalibration by the Labour Party and organised labour, aiming to transform Nigeria’s vast workforce into a disciplined electoral structure capable of mobilising, securing, and defending votes at the grassroots level.