In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Olumide Akpata, the Gubernatorial aspirant of the Labour Party (LP) in the upcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State, expressed his commitment to stay with the party even if he is unfairly excluded from the primary election.
Akpata, the former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), stated that he has faith in the selection process, citing his observations of previous elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.
There are definitely glitches and I hope that those who superintended over the affairs will go back to the drawing board and ensure that we don’t have a repeat of what we had in those states,” he said.
While noting that these developments called for concern, he said if he was “played out” during the primaries, “I am a democrat and a good sportsman. If I lose, I will go home.
“Political harlotry is not one of my strong points. I came to this party because I believe in what the party stands for. If some of the operators of the party are behaving in an underhanded manner, that does not mean the party has changed.
“What you do is to ensure that you enthrone leadership that works in tandem with the objectives of the party. The solution is not to jump ship. You are not going to hear of me jumping ship to another party,” he said.
Akpata said he doesn’t have the support of the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, adding that he believed Obi would endorse whoever emerged as the candidate of the party in the state.
“Put yourself in the shoes of Mr Peter Obi, 28 aspirants on the field; do you really think he will endorse one above others?
“Mr Peter Obi is a friend of mine, he knows about my ambition, we have talked about it but I expect no less from him. He’s a democrat, he’s fair, he’s just, he’s equitable. So, what he would do is wait for the process to play out,” he added.
