Edo Elections
Edo Guber: What Transpired Was Not Election But Transaction -LP Candidate Akpata
The Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in the recent Edo state governorship election, Olumide Akpata has said that what transpired on 21 September 2024 was not an election but a transaction.
Akpata stated this on Monday in Benin while ddressing a press conference on the outcome of the election.
The former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, also thumbed down the exercise, saying it was characterized by vote-buying allegedly by the two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
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He insisted that he had a good show and was ready to contribute his quota in any capacity to make Nigeria and Edo State better places for their people.
He added that he belonged to a generation of Nigerians yearning for a genuine change and so service to the motherland has nothing to do with the social status of such individuals.
According to him, the election was largely free from historical forms of election-day malpractice such as ballot box snatching and stuffing, but it was marred by voter intimidation and the falsification of results.
“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.
“A troubling theme emerged as the day unfolded: a widespread vote-buying scheme by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
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“This practice, no less damaging than outright ballot stuffing, has effectively disenfranchised the people of Edo State.
“We went to talk to the people we went to see and we talked to them. God allowed me to see things for myself.
“I belong to a generation that is about service, we want to turn the story around, we want to change the narrative,” he said.
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