The candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) in last Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has accused the people of the state of selling their future for peanuts by choosing to vote for the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Monday Okpebholo.
He lamented that even some members and agents of his party compromised themselves and were bought over by the opposition.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo as the winner of the election with 291,667 votes while PDP’s Asue Ighodalo polled 247,274 votes, with Akpata finished third with 22,763.
However, Akpata who bared his mind while X-raying the outcome of the election in a statement on Monday, expressed his disappointment in the role of voters, party members, and agents in what he described as the manipulation of the election.
“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”, he said.
Akpata noted that while powerful forces were expected to influence the election, the real shock came from within the electorate whom he said collectively sold their future for mere pittance.
“We anticipated that powerful forces would attempt to skew the outcome in their favour, regardless of the will of the people,” Akpata said in the statement shared on his official X handle.
“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.
“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”.
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