Labour Party Lawmakers Reject Edo Governorship Election Results, Claim Rigging

Members of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives have vehemently rejected the outcome of the Edo State governorship election, which saw Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Faruk Kuta, Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rivals, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party, who received 247,274 and 22,763 votes, respectively.

At a press conference held on Wednesday at the National Assembly Complex, House Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinobi, representing the Labour Party’s 32 lawmakers, condemned the election process.

He asserted that the party’s candidate was unfairly rigged out of the race, calling the election exercise flawed and lacking credibility.

He said, “The Labour Party presented the best candidate in the election, who was brazenly rigged out of the process. Our candidate, Olumide Akpata, a renowned legal professional and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, garnered significantsupport from the electorate but enemies of democracy thwarted his efforts and excellent standing in the election.

“It is on record that our leader and presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, campaigned vigorously for our gubernatorial candidate in every nook and cranny of the state.

Of course, the whole world witnessed the massive crowd that the Obedient Movement pulled wherever he went during the campaign yet; Chief Akpata was allocated paltry votes in a state where LP just about a year and seven months ago, had one Senator and two House members. This is very grateful to the perpetrators of this crime.

“We are deeply concerned over the irregularities and alleged malpractices that marred the electoral process ranging from vote buying by the so-called big parties, intimidation of voters, mass thumb printing of ballot papers and pre-writing and alteration of election results, among others.”

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