Labour Party Governorship Candidate in Edo Alleges Vote-Selling by Party Members

Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the just-concluded Edo State election, has accused members of his party of selling their votes to rival political parties.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, the winner of the election on Sunday.

Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Akpata finished a distant third with 22,763 votes.

During an interview on Channels TV, Akpata attributed his defeat to the widespread vote-buying that occurred during the election, lamenting that even members of the Labour Party were guilty of selling their votes for cash.

He expressed his dismay at the situation, stating, “Some of my supporters stayed at home, but a large number of them sold their votes. What happened was a tragedy.”

Akpata further noted that the reliance on cash by voters, including his own party members, was a significant lesson he learned from the election.

“Members of my party sold their votes. It is something we must look into closely.

They chose to go for cash, and that was a big lesson to learn. It shows that if you think you know the people, you have to think again and look inward.”

The former LP candidate also called for a deeper examination of Nigeria’s electoral process, urging a shift in focus away from his personal loss and the Labour Party’s performance to the broader issues plaguing the nation’s democratic system.