Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Edo State, has reaffirmed his commitment to winning the September 21, election, undeterred by the tactics of desperate politicians.

Speaking in Benin, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) emphasised that the leadership crises within Edo LP would not impede his performance in the crucial poll.
He said: “If we were having primaries, I would be bothered, but we are campaigning ahead of the governorship election. Our target audience is the people of Edo State. They are the electorate. We need their votes. It is not in contention that I am the candidate of LP in Edo State. Nobody is dragging the ticket with me.

“Every organisation must have its issues, as long as human beings are there. The best way is always to stick to what the law says, then you cannot go wrong. We are trying our best, keeping faith with our internal dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that we find a resolution.

“There is no doubt that a united house is better than a divided one. We will move on. I do not think any voter in Edo State will say because there is a quarrel between two people inside one place, I will not go and vote for Olu Akpata.
“They will listen to the message that Olu Akpata has for them. If they are convinced, they will vote for me. If they are not convinced, they will not vote.”

It would be recalled that LP’s leading aspirant, Kenneth Imansuangbon, filed suits against Akpata at the Federal High Courts (FHCs) in Abuja and Benin, to challenge his election as the party’s standard bearer in Edo.
Imansuangbon, a billionaire philanthropist, popularly referred to as Riceman, given his regular distribution of free bags of rice to Edo residents in the 18 local government areas, expressed optimism of emerging victorious in the suits before the courts.