Governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming Edo State Governorship election, Olumide Akpata, says he would bring in new ideas and innovations on how to make the state great for its people. The former NBA President, in an interview on Channels TV Political Paradigm, monitored by David Lawani, also advised the National Chairman of his party, Julius Abure, to meet with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress to resolve lingering issues
You got the LP’s ticket to run in the forthcoming Edo governorship election, were you charged for it?
Well, I wasn’t charged for the ticket. That one, I obtained through a primary process right but like other parties, the Labour Party charged a fee for the expression of interest and nomination forms. But in our case, it was N25m for the nomination form and N5m for the expression of interest form. Yes, there were quite a few who thought the fee was kind of steep. The fee was rather high, and I was one of those you know. So, about 18 of us, aspirants, at the time, wrote to the party chairman asking him to reconsider that number and many believed that it was just against the ethos of the Labour Party to price. Essentially, a lot thought it was easy to price a few people out of the game. A similar scenario in Bayelsa State when we had our primaries. And there was that push at that time to reduce the fee from N20m to N15m or N10m. I think there was some reduction in Bayelsa but in the Edo case, despite our appeals and our requests in this regard, the party did not budge. I know that for the female aspirants, there were some concessions given to them. They didn’t have to pay for the form, but they got some kind of rebate on the nomination form. But in all, I think it was considered a figure, and a high number to pay because that is what the idea of the contention of what the Labour Party says.
There are calls from the NLC for the National Chairman of LP, Abure, to resign, what do you make of those calls?
Well, you know, I think some of these calls have come out because of disaffection and dissatisfaction and as a result of people being unhappy with the state of affairs. So, I am sure that as I have advised, both parties should go back to the drawing board, look at the Constitution, and deal with issues. I admit that the Constitution does not cover all circumstances or scenarios but in the main, you find a solution in the document. I think at that point you find out that swords will be sheathed and this call for resignation may no longer be on the front burner. This is because they have called for him to resign. At least from what I have read they are quite unhappy or dissatisfied with the way he has conducted certain aspects of the party affairs including this call for a convention. So, I’m sure if Mr. Abure and his team sit with the NLC to try to deal with the issues at hand, you will find that those calls will recede, that is my suspicion. It may not be as strident as they are now if he comes to the table. It is my job. I’m a lawyer so negotiating is critical. Because as people, we have to talk to each other and find some kind of middle-of-the-road approach otherwise, we’re just going to be shouting at ourselves and not much will come out of that.
Accusations of financial impropriety have been levelled against Abure and of course, the leadership of the party was pretty disappointing from a Nigerian standpoint. What is your view? We saw Mr Peter Obi explaining his side of the story that he had nothing to do with this. What do you make out of that scenario?
Maybe because of my training. I am not going to rush into judgment, and I counsel Nigerians not to rush to judgment and give everybody the benefit of the doubt. I’m also going to say that we are not going to walk away from the Labour Party because one individual or two have been accused of certain crimes or certain allegations have been levelled against a couple of individuals. Is that enough to now turn our backs on a dream or that vehicle that we know can take us out of the doldrums that we are as a country? I don’t think so. That is too easy, that will be playing out the script that has been written by probably those who don’t want to see us come out of our issues. Now that is not to say that I am passing or issuing a clean bill of health on anybody. I can’t do that. So, I watched like everybody else the allegations levelled by Mrs Okpara now suspended National Treasurer of the LP and I was aghast like many other Nigerians. If one of these allegations turns out to be true, that will be utterly heartbreaking, but it remains if. You can allege as much as you like but he who alleges must prove. So, the leaders of the party must ensure that none of these is swept under the carpet and that I will not put my name to. I will not accept a situation where allegations that are as significant as these are swept under the carpet. No, because it will rub off very badly on the party if we allow just as you have said disappointment and disenchantment. People are unhappy just even hearing. So, we must take it upon ourselves as a party to go the extra mile to show either that these allegations are not correct or if they turn out to be true, to be sure that anybody, no matter how highly placed who is found wanting, will be brought to book. You know what I mean? So, I don’t think we can tar everybody with the same brush and say the Labour Party is just like the others. I think that would be most unfair. Instead, it is incumbent on the leaders of the party, the stakeholders who we see as the face of the party, to do more to allay the fears of the people who have put all their hopes on the party. Offence must come as they say, as it is said in the Bible, but woe unto whom offence cometh. So, it is not to say that we expect that there will be no infractions here. It’s a human organisation and foibles and frailties come with the territory. So, what is most important is to ensure that there’s a mechanism in place or there are mechanisms in place to hold anybody accountable if indeed, any of these allegations are found to be true. The Labour Party is strong. I just came out of the process in the Edo State primaries. I went around the state’s 18 local governments three times. The people are looking up to the Labour Party. They’re ready to support us. They’re simply asking when we vote for you, will our votes count? Will you help us protect our vote? It’s the party of the people.
I want to get to your manifesto, and what’s happening. I hate to get hypothetical, but just hypothetically, let’s say you were the national chairman of the LP, with everything going on, would you resign?
If I were chairman of the Labour Party today, I would strive so hard to clear my name.
Do you think Abure is doing enough to clear his name as it is?
I’m not in any position to give him advice but you asked me a hypothetical question and I think it is a very important question. I mean I am not one of those who believe in resignation in the face of every accusation. I think it’s most unfair. When I was President of the Nigerian Bar Association and somebody got up and said I fiddled with the funds, would I just simply say oh I’m resigning? I’m not going to promise or say what I won’t do. I may not have resigned. I will do everything like Lee Kuan Yew did when he was prime minister of Singapore. He went to court on any allegation because his name was important to him. So, if I were chairman of the Labour Party and a person so highly placed as the National Treasurer got up to tell the world that I have fiddled with the funds, I would be in court the next day because he who alleges must prove. So, it is incumbent on the Treasurer to prove all that she has said. I will go to the proper forum and say, my Lord, my reputation is being demolished and my name is all I have. I will sue and then whoever is alleging will come to court, and that would be my prescription.
Do you think any of these will affect your push to be governor of Edo State?
There is the possibility that all of these can boomerang and affect all of us. We are in the same canoe as it were, and, if they were in turbulent waters at the moment the canoe could capsize, and all of us, passengers, could find ourselves drinking more water than we actually could consume. So, I am interested. I am very keen to see that we resolve the issues. Yeah, there is the dichotomy, there’s a difference between the Labour Party and Obidient, there’s no doubt about that. But they are partners in progress, natural partners in the project Nigeria and it is in their self-interests, their enlightened self-interest, that both groups come together and embrace themselves. They worked together on a project in 2023 and almost got the prize but you know the rest as they say is history. It is incumbent on both groups to sit down and fashion out ways and means by which they can move on to the next challenge. They both need each other right and it would not work for one to sit on the other side of the fence and say ah we are this and you are that.
