Over 300,000 votes were bought during Edo guber election- LP’s Akpata

The Labour Party candidate in the just-concluded governorship election in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has described the September 21 poll as a transaction where vote-buying was the order of the day. In this interview on Channels TV’ Politics Today’ monitored by David Lawani, Akpata, who was a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, said the exercise was a charade

How do you describe the outcome and the process of the Edo state governorship election?

If we view the outcome without discussing the process, we may not be doing justice to the entire electoral process. I have enough in my storehouse of humility to accept defeat if I lost on the field of election. As you can see, the Labour Party came a distant third. However, that outcome came out because of a thoroughly flawed process. It was a tragic event that took place in Edo state two weeks ago. Considering the voters’ apathy so high, you will agree that the election was a charade. It is estimated that only about 20% of eligible voters came out to vote that day in Edo State. A highly enlightened and sophisticated community like that! And when you also consider the vote-buying bazaar that took place and the number of eligible voters that came out to cast their ballot, many of the voters shunned the exercise. I disagree with the official numbers of voters who claimed to have been accredited for voting. But we are still looking inward. Let us even assume that 500,000 were accredited to vote on that day. I can tell you for free that over 300,000 votes were bought that day. Besides, what happened at the collation centres was chaotic. It was a mayhem. So, that tells you that it was not an election on September 21. Like I said, I would accept defeat if I lost fair and square. But when you recognize that the Labour Party was right from the beginning, we were out of the game because we apparently came to a gunfight with a pen knife. We didn’t have the resources to buy votes that were on offer. We would never have participated in such perfidy even if we had the resources.

What do you have to say about the Edo people on Election Day?

The people themselves were very willing and were on the lookout for buyers. They were looking out for the highest bidder. It was a willing buyer and seller scenario. So, that tells the whole story of an election characterized by all manners of fraudulent activities ranging from vote buying to intimidation of opponents.

You became the first man in the history of the Nigeria Bar Association to emerge as its President in an unusual manner. But you are now running for the governorship seat of Edo state. Are you shocked by what you met on the ground? What was your expectation?

Nigeria happens to you, and I am old enough to understand my country. Nothing shocks me in Nigeria. Saved for, the attitude of the people flatly took me aback, as I have described it, the captives who are in love with their captors. So, that alone left me a little bit dumbfounded. Because I didn’t expect that kind of attitude from the people. We campaigned vigorously around the state; I know the people wanted to see change, but the people capitulated, given the magnitude of inducement. Each of the three leading candidates came to the party and the table with his fair share of negatives. The APC candidate could not or would not speak with the populace. So, the people were yearning to hear from him, but he was unavailable. He was a product of some severe infighting in the APC. The PDP candidate came with his baggage. First, the incumbent governor was more like an albatross for him. He also came like an outsider like me. I could not ascribe the election’s outcome to any of these negatives we bore or carried into the process. If these negatives were the only issues, I think the outcome or the result would have differed. I am not saying we won the election. I am saying that there was no election. I am saying there was a transaction. It is very difficult to say this is who would have won amongst us. By our estimation, 300,000 votes were bought by the two parties actively participating in the bazaar. That is enough to swing any election.

Where were the messages of papa, mama and pikin? Some said the messages didn’t resonate with the people. Where were your supporters on the day of the election?

Some stayed at home, but many came out and sold their votes. That is the point I am making. What happened was a tragedy. Let us remove focus from Olumide Akpata in the Labour Party and interrogate our electoral process. Members of my party sold their votes. It is something we must investigate closely. So, papa, mama, and pikin might not resonate with the people.  We had confidence in the people, but the people decided to go for money. So, for me, that was a big lesson to learn: if you think you know people, you have to think again. And that is the scenario. We thought the papa, mama, and pikin would come out, as they told us when we campaigned with them that enough was enough. Our ‘mumu’ done do. We no go ‘gree’ for them again. When they found so much money on the table, every other consideration was out of the window. That is what happened. I would like it if the focus should not be on me, as Olumide Akpata or the Labour Party. It is easy to call us sour losers. Or say we are naive. But let’s focus on what happened on September 21 because it is an ill wind that will blow no one no good. We are superintending over the destruction of democracy in Nigeria. It is unfathomable that this kind of perfidy can take place in a country like Nigeria in broad daylight, as we see in such a brazen manner. More elections are coming in Ondo and Anambra, for instance. This is the playbook that will be applied in each of those elections.

How do you respond to Julius Abure’s allegation that you bought the ticket?

I read it somewhere, and you know, I am a lawyer. I remained hesitant to what I have heard not from Abure himself. I dare him to say this to my face. Julius Abure will not say this to my face. So, I shouldn’t reply to him. I told you before when I asked whether I bought the ticket, and I said no. If you say I helped to build the party, I bought vehicles for the party when we had none. I bought chairs for the party at all the ward levels. I bought a public address system for the party when we had none. That I will say, oh, yes, I did. Because the party needed it. I am there to build the party. And, indeed, now that it has turned out that I am not the governor-elect, I remain a member of the Labour Party because I am here to build the party. I did that as an aspirant and will do that as a former candidate. So, if that is the accusation, I plead guilty. I was part of building the Labour Party and ensuring we had structures in Edo state. But, if Julius Abure is correct, Julius Abure cannot speak about criminality. I don’t want to talk to words that have been ascribed to Abure when he is not in a position to confirm that this came from him. I would rather walk away from that if you don’t mind.

Would you ever want to run for the Edo governorship election again?

This is not a sprint. It is a marathon. I have told you that we are here to fix Nigeria and Edo State and join hands with like minds to ensure we pull our country and my state out of the doldrums. It will take more than one mishandled election and a travesty to determine. I am ready to continue with this. I want to tell my grandchildren what I did in Nigeria during this challenging time. What did I do? So, it is going to take more than one election. We are in this for the long haul.

 So, you mean you are going to run again?

Yes, sure.

Are you pursuing the outcome in court? Are you challenging the result of this election at all?

I have the benefit of saying this as an insider. A practitioner within the justice sector. It is a decision that the Labour Party and I will have to take jointly on whether we will challenge the election outcome. I will meet with my lawyers, and the Labour Party will also meet with its lawyers. Then, we will decide whether we will be challenging the election outcome. Just as doctors are not expected to treat themselves, lawyers should also be very conscious. Instinctively, I would have decided on whether to go to the tribunal. As a legally trained individual, I need to take a backseat and allow my lawyers, with the evidence we have or have collated, to decide on my behalf. Of course, I will be involved in that conversation. My 31 years as a lawyer will be of some benefit when we analyze it.  But that call has not been made yet.

Are you going to put politics aside and work with the election winner based on the result announced by INEC? If the governor-elect seeks your support, will you oblige him?

Only in Nigeria have I kept hearing about whether you will work with… One very important plank of any democracy is the opposition, which is clear-minded and not short-sighted. An opposition that can hold the feet of government to the fire. So, rather than anybody asking me whether I would work with any of the elected governments of the APC, the question is, is the Labour Party ready to play its role as the opposition? We must have a credible and vibrant opposition in place. So that whichever government is elected when we eventually get to November 12, and whoever is sworn in as governor, that person would know that there is a cloud of witnesses. A group of people are watching and will call them out if the government steps out of line. They ran on a manifesto. We ran on our promises to the people. I will remain in this space and ensure that whichever government emerges at Osadebey Avenue, we will do well for the people if they have the wherewithal. I have my doubts about whether they can do it. We will make sure that they do well for the people. And if they do not, we will call them out.

If this vote-buying thing hadn’t happened, in which area do you think you could have won this election fair and square?

Let us stop fixating on Olumide Akpata. Let us highlight the issue. The Yiaga Africa, on the midday of the election, had already cried foul. In their final reports, I am sure you have read it. Let us find out what went wrong. How come the APC and the PDP were buying votes in such a brazen manner? That process was utterly flawed because vote-buying took place at such a level and, of course, of the chaos at the collation centres. Your guess is as good as mine. We would have done better. I am not here to mention whether Labour Party would have won. That level of vote buying negates the process that occurred on September 21.  The election didn’t take place. Is this the kind of democracy we want for our country? We have other elections coming up. We must return to the drawing board and find out how to stop this. This is a rape of democracy. It is not about Labour Party winning or Olumide Akpata winning. It is about the Nigerian people winning. If this continues, we will lose democracy.