By Olusegun Olanrewaju
The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has blamed the party’s candidate in the weekend’s governorship election in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, and former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for the party’s abysmal performance.
The party also congratulated the Edo State governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), for the victory, saying that the victory was a well-deserved one.
The party, while congratulating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for a job well done, described the election as one of the fairest, freest and most peaceful elections in the country.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, who said these in a statement signed and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said those who accused INEC of being partial and fraud in the election are part of Nigerians who failed to learn from history.
He said, “Whatever INEC did was correct. The problem with Nigerians and their leaders is that if anything doesn’t favour us, that thing is wrong, but if it favours us, even when it’s wrong, we describe it as the right thing.”
The party also noted, “Just last week, Mr. Peter Obi and Alex Otti were clapping for INEC who alleged that the tenure of Abure had expired.
‘’When they knew that we had a national convention in Nnewi, where INEC was invited, Alex Otti sponsored the convention; his deputy represented him at the convention, all his commissioners were present, and yet because they wanted to forcefully and illegally take over the party, they said INEC was correct to say Abure’s tenure has expired, when they themselves know that INEC was not truthful, but acting illegally. Today because they failed in Edo, INEC has done the wrong thing”.
The party noted that Obi and Otti’s high-handedness, deceit, love for power-grabbing, brash, abrasive approach, and betrayal of the National Working Committee of the party, under Abure and the secretary, Farouk Umar Ibrahim, sowed the seeds of failures and contributed in many ways to LP’s loss in the governorship election.
“Another reason that led to the defeat of LP was that Olumide Akpata is from the same local government (Oredo) and the same Senatorial District with Governor Godwin Obaseki, who will soon complete his eight-year term.
“The People of Edo wanted the next governor to emerge from Edo Central, which explains why the APC and PDP took their candidates from there”.
The spokesman described a statement credited to Obi that the damage INEC caused in the Edo governorship election would inevitably take revenge on those responsible and affect their children in the future, as an insult to the generality of Edo people who wanted equity and justice for Edo Central Senatorial District, but which Obi decided to work against.
“Olumide Akpata has no reason to complain about the election and buying of votes.
‘’Akpata bought all the Labour Party delegates during the primary to get the Labour Party ticket.
‘’He bought over the party structure, gave them vehicles. He even called police to harass those who pointed out the abnormality.
