LP faction blames Obi, Akpata for defeat in Edo guber election

• APC faults Yiaga’s report on election
• Secondus alleges APC plotting to destroy democracy
• U.S. hails peaceful conduct of guber poll

The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has blamed the party’s candidate in the Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, and Peter Obi for the party’s abysmal performance.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the report by Yiaga Africa on the election as inaccurate.

With the outcome of the Edo election, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, said the 2027 elections may not hold, claiming that the APC has destroyed and buried democracy in the country.

But the United States Government commended the people of Edo over their peaceful conduct during the election.

Congratulating the governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, and APC for the victory, which he described as well deserved, the faction’s spokesman, Abayomi Arabambi, hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a job well done, describing the election as one of the fairest, freest and most peaceful elections in the country.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, he said those who accused INEC of being partial and fraudulent in the election failed to learn from history.

He said, “Whatever INEC does is correct. The problem with Nigerians and their leaders is that if anything doesn’t favour us, that thing is wrong; but if it favours us even when it is wrong, we described it as the right thing.”

According to him, another reason that led to the defeat of LP was that Akpata is from the same Oredo Local Council as Godwin Obaseki, who will soon complete his eight years as governor.

“People of Edo wanted the next governor to emerge from Edo Central, which explains why APC and PDP took their candidates from there.”

In a statement, yesterday, APC spokesperson, Felix Morka, said alleging that the election results were manipulated without hard facts and figures “is a disservice to the process”.

Morka said, “INEC is the sole statutory authority for the conduct and declaration of the election result; Yiaga Africa is not and must desist from constituting itself into a parallel agency for the declaration of the election result.

“Yiaga Africa’s report is a travesty, replete with methodological flaws, politicised observations, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and calls its credibility into question.”

The spokesperson described the outcome of the election as a rejection of the “bad governance” of the administration led by Obaseki.

SECONDUS, in a statement, yesterday, signed by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, also accused the APC of orchestrating a plan to ground Nigeria through bad governance.

According to him, all indications suggest that the ruling party (APC) is on a mission to destroy democracy in Nigeria, noting that what occurred in Edo over the weekend was “electoral fraud, conducted with no regard for the rule of law or respect for voters.”

The statement reads, “From the results of all the off-cycle elections conducted in Imo, Kogi and Edo states, the Mahmoud Yakubu-led INEC has shown no remorse for the disgraceful conduct of the 2023 general election, which threw Nigeria under the bus.

“With the shameless boast by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, that they would apply the Edo template in other forthcoming off-cycle elections in Ondo and Anambra states, it is clear that 2027 may not even happen, as the ruling party’s agenda is to create a one-party state by silencing the opposition.”

The beauty of democracy, he noted, lies in opposing voices that check the ruling party; but the APC is set to ruin Nigeria with their misrule and won’t tolerate dissenting views.

U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., in a statement on the Embassy’s website, asserted,
“The U.S. Mission in Nigeria commends the people of Edo for the widely peaceful conduct of the gubernatorial election on September 21 and reiterates calls for calm following the announcement of results.

“We commend Governor Obaseki’s appeal for peace and urge all stakeholders, including INEC, to support established electoral processes and respect legal procedures to challenge results.”

Transparency and due process, Mills noted, are crucial to maintaining public confidence in any democratic system.

He added, “The U.S. reaffirms its commitment to supporting free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Nigeria and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”