Barely 24 hours after Olumide Akpata emerged as the candidate of the Labour Party in the September 21 governorship election in Edo, the Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led faction has also unveiled its candidate for the election.
The letter sighted on several social media platforms including the WhatsApp group of the Labour Party in Edo State was signed by Alhaji Lamidi Apapa as the acting National Chairman and Alhaji Saleh Lawan as the acting National Secretary.
Apapa gave the name of the governorship candidate as Anderson Asemota, while Monday Mawah was listed as Asemota’s running mate.
In an election conducted under Julius Abure-led national leadership of the Labour Party, Akpata had 316 votes defeating his contenders by a wide margin, with the closest aspirants, Ken Imasuagbon, popularly known as ‘Rice Man’, and Professor Sunny Eromosele scoring seven votes apiece.
Sergius Ogun scored four votes, Earnest Àyegbe scored three votes and Paul Iseghohi withdrew from the race.
However, the Apapa-led faction of the party in a letter dated February 22, 2024 and addressed to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Abuja submitted the names of the party’s candidate and deputy governorship candidate respectively.
Apapa said the governorship candidate and his running mate emerged at a primary conducted on February 22, 2024, in Benin City.
When contacted on the phone, Apapa confirmed the letter. He simply said, “Yes it is true. The letter is from us.”
However, the Public Relations Officer of the Edo State LP, Sam Uroupa said that the only recognised primary held by the party was the one where Olumide Akpata emerged as the candidate for the governorship election in September.
He added that only one primary took place on Friday and he was not aware that another one took place in the state, adding that the election which threw up Akpata as candidate of the party was free, fair and credible.
Uroupa also urged the public to disregard the news of the purported primaries held by Apapa as the one conducted under the National Chairman, Julius Abure with the deputy governor of Abia state, Emechulu Ikecbukwu, as returning officer, the authentic one.
“I urge the public to disregard any claim by the Apapa-led faction that it conducted a primary election in Edo and has a candidate for the September 21 governorship election in the state.
“Olumide Akpata is the only candidate elected in a free, fair and credible election on Friday. He will be on the ballot in the election,” Uroupa added.
Meanwhile, ahead of the September 21 Edo State governorship election, the factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Philip Shaibu has vowed to carry on with his preparations even if doing so would cause his impeachment by the state House of Assembly.
The deputy governor disclosed this at a media parley with journalists in Abuja on Saturday.
On Thursday, the returning officer in the PDP governorship primaries and Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, announced Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the delegate election, having polled a total of 577 votes.
Shaibu said, “Even as we speak, my team has been calling me that, ‘look at what these people are doing. They are saying they are going to impeach you that you have gotten too far.’ They are threatening to impeach me. I am not afraid of impeachment, I’m fighting for the right of the people to choose who they want.
“And I said, well, if fighting for my rights and the rights of all of us collectively triggers my impeachment, so be it,” he said.
Shaibu who described Ighodalo as “My far my elder brother,” however, urged the PDP to know that the lawyer-turned-politician does not have what it takes to win the poll.
Shaibu who defected to the PDP alongside the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki in 2020 from the All Progressives Congress said his office has been subjected to all manner of degrading treatment by the governor, adding, however, that he is the man to win the election for the PDP.
