Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Edo State, has expressed his deep disappointment in the role of voters, party members, and agents in what he described as the manipulation of the election held on Saturday.
In a post-election statement, Akpata highlighted that while powerful forces were expected to influence the election, the real shock came from within the electorate.
“We anticipated that powerful forces would attempt to skew the outcome in their favour, regardless of the will of the people,” Akpata said in his statement on Monday.
He added, “Regrettably, these fears have materialised. Yet, we must also confront an uncomfortable truth: the outcome was enabled not just by those who sought to manipulate the process, but also by the actions—and inactions—of a significant portion of our electorate.”
Akpata condemned the process, calling it “not an election but a transaction,” blaming the APC and PDP for vote-buying and accusing voters who stayed away of facilitating the manipulation.
“Let us be clear what transpired on 21 September 2024 was not an election but a transaction. It was enabled by those who chose to stay away, making it easier for the two dominant parties to afford a significant majority of the few votes on offer and by those who came out and willingly sold their votes,” he stressed.
Akpata lamented the situation, adding, “It became painfully clear that we did not have the people, as many, including some Labour Party faithful and agents, willingly sold their future for peanuts to the very political parties whose actions and policies have impoverished them.”
Following the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APC candidate Monday Okpebholo as the winner, with 291,667 votes. PDP’s Asue Ighodalo polled 247,274 votes, while Akpata finished third with 22,763.
Labour Party Chairman in Edo, Kelly Ogbalo, also spoke out on Monday, claiming that the party would have won if the election had been free and fair. He alleged, “Labour Party won the election but was not allowed to take possession.”
Ogbalo detailed further, “What I mean by that is that the election was marred with serious irregularities. There was open vote buying. The security agencies failed to check this anomaly.”
When asked if the party would challenge the results in court, Ogbalo stated that no decision had yet been made.
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