The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the just concluded Edo Governorship election, Olumide Akpata, on Monday, said what transpired on 21 September 2024 was not an election but a transaction that profited the highest bidder.
Akpata also said the election was marred by voter intimidation and the falsification of results.
Briefing newsmen in Benin on the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election, Akpata said, that although the election was largely free from historical forms of election-day malpractice such as ballot box snatching and stuffing, it was nevertheless marred by voter intimidation and the falsification of results.
He lamented a widespread vote-buying scheme by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Akpata said the Labour Party refused to engage in the cash-and-carry approach as it did not budget to compete with the two political parties, whose governors may have dipped their hands into the State’s treasuries to provide the war chest for the show of shame.
“Even if we had the resources, we lacked the inclination to participate in such a perversion of democracy. Nothing illustrates this principle more clearly than the loss of my own polling unit. If I were so inclined, I could have easily mustered enough cash to secure enough votes to win my polling unit. But that is not the path we chose.
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“Instead, we remained faithful to our brief in the sanctity of the ballot and the inalienable right of our people to freely choose their leaders without coercion inducement. This was not political naivety, but a testament to our unwavering commitment to true democracy—where a vote’s value lies in its power to effect change, not in the amount of Naira it can command.
“We reserve our strongest condemnation for those who engaged in vote buying: the APC and PDP. Their actions have directly contributed to the destruction of our state’s economy over the past 25 years, creating the enabling environment for this democratic sacrilege to thrive.
“This election has laid bare the stark reality that our political landscape is dominated not by ideologies or the people’s will, but by those with the deepest pockets and the most extensive networks of influence.
“I hold no sympathy for the PDP, who now cry foul after being outmaneuvered in this macabre game of thrones. They willingly participated in the bidding war with the APC, fully aware of the rules from the outset. Their lamentations ring hollow in the face of their own complicity in this democratic travesty.”
Akpata added that for the APC and the Governor-elect, their actions have undermined the democratic process, betrayed the trust of the very people they seek to lead and eroded faith in the democratic institutions.
He pledged to remain committed to providing services to the people despite the outcome of the election, saying, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to building a democracy that works for all, not just the highest bidder.
“We continue to envision an Edo State, and a Nigeria, where ideas triumph over Naira, where the collective will of the people shapes our future, and where every citizen feels the impact of good governance in their daily lives.
“To achieve this vision, we must push for comprehensive electoral reform. We need to leverage technology to create foolproof systems that make vote buying not just difficult but impossible. We must aso address the root causes that make our people susceptible to vote-selling.
“This means creating economic opportunities, improving education, and building a society where citizens do not feel compelled to mortgage their future for immediate gains.”