The Labour Party governorship candidate in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, criticized the results of the September 21 election, calling it riddled with irregularities.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Akpata explained that his legal team is currently gathering evidence to decide whether to challenge the election results in court.
“The decision to challenge the outcome will be made jointly by the Labour Party and myself,” he stated. “I will meet with my lawyers, and the party will also consult its legal team. Based on the evidence we have and are still collecting, a decision will be made on whether to pursue legal action.”
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the tightly contested election. Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Asue Ighodalo, who received 247,274 votes. Akpata finished third with 22,763 votes.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) questioned the process that led to Okpebholo’s victory, accusing both the APC and PDP of engaging in vote-buying. He described the election as a “transaction” rather than a genuine democratic exercise.
Akpata further alleged that some members of the Labour Party sold their votes. “I’m not claiming that we won the election. I’m saying there was no election—it was a transaction. It’s hard to say who would have truly won,” he said. “By our estimates, 300,000 votes were bought by the two major parties, which is enough to sway the outcome. Sadly, even some members of my party participated in this vote-selling.”