Olumide Akpata, Labour Party (LP) candidate in the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State, says he can’t be remote-controlled by any political benefactor or godfather if he wins the forthcoming poll.
The former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said he is only answerable to the people of the state.
“I have no strings attached. I am not answerable to any godfather. I am not answerable to any political benefactor.
“That is one reason they (Edo people) can trust the Labour Party government because we are answerable to the people,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The forthcoming governorship election in the state has top contenders including Akpata, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akpata said unlike the other candidates attached to former and serving governors, he is not answerable to any political godfather.
The LP candidate also said his campaign is not funded by Governor Godwin Obaseki whose anointed candidate is PDP’s Ighodalo.
“Initially, I was said to be the agent of Governor Obaseki, we were able to debunk that. Today, I was said to be sponsored by the APC. I think it is conspiracy theorising that is most stupid.
“I am funding myself and I have friends who believe in me and that we can do much better in Edo,” he said.
‘Obaseki’s performance underwhelming’
Akpata said the performance of Obaseki in the last eight years has been underwhelming.
“There is a gulf between myself and Governor Obaseki; it’s night and day. I cannot and will not be associated with his government. His performance has been underwhelming.
“I have been attacked, my billboards have been pulled down. Everybody knows that I am not his choice; I am not his Plan Z,” he said.
“I am saying that Governor Obaseki has been a failure; an unmitigated disaster. In failure, there will always be flashes of positives here and there but we are talking about on the whole, in the sum,” he added.
Akpata said the people of Edo need a breath of fresh air. “The reason they (voters) should look at us is that we need a breath of fresh air, you need something different,” he said.
“For 25 years, PDP and APC have been running Edo State. In the last eight years, one man has belonged to both parties.
“It is an abject failure and so we must try something else and the Labour Party presents a different approach to the subject: a people-centric, people-focused, people-impacting approach.
“Every government must ask itself: whatever resources I have available, how will it impact the greatest number of the people? That is the approach of the Labour Party,” the LP candidate explained.
Akpata said if elected, he would start with electricity agriculture, education and healthcare. He said he would call for private-public partnerships to set up power plants around the state.
The former NBA president expressed optimism that he would defeat Ighodalo and Okpebholo at the poll despite that they are backed by Obaseki and former governor Adams Oshiomhole respectively.
