Edo Election: Akpata would’ve won under free, fair atmosphere – LP running mate

Yusuf Asamah Kadiri, the Labour Party, LP, governorship running mate in Edo State, on Tuesday, insisted that the party would have won the just-concluded election in Edo State if it was free and fair.

Kadiri maintained that vote-buying during last Saturday’s governorship election derailed LP’s candidate, Olumide Apata from emerging victorious.

Results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, indicated that Akpata came a distant third in the Edo State governorship election.

The election results announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta, said Akpata polled 22,763 votes while Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the election after garnering 291,667 votes while Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who scored 247,274 votes.

However, featuring on Arise TV’s programme, the Morning Show, Kadiri said: “In a free and fair atmosphere, we would have won that election. We are still consulting internally on whether we should go to court or not.

“We are the only ones that campaigned all across the local government so we felt their pains. We went to the remotest village and they expressed their pains.

“What turned out on the election day was money playing around, many said they wanted to vote for the Labour Party but changed. There was a path to winning but money raided that path.”