By Francis Onoiribholo Bureau Chief Benin
Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, has decried the violent dimensions the Edo state gubernatorial campaigns were now taken, saying that the labour party will continue to abhor it and distance itself from what he described as,”such buccaneers and barbaric”
Akpata who said his campaign train was also a victim at Owan West local government area said, he has already taken the issue to Abuja where he complained to the Inspector General of Police about the situation.
Akpata made the disclosure while speaking to journalists in Benin City about the party’s experience after campaigning the nooks and crannies of the 18 Local Government Areas of state twice, to know what the state of affairs in the state is and to know what the people are encountering as citizens of the State.
He however accused the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, of being the brain behind the violence nature the campaigns were now being Plunged into, describing the two parties as “buccaneers”.
According to him, the scale of violence that is now trailing the campaigns in the state is frightening and needed to be checked to avoid bloodbath.
“In the course of our travel, we also have been victims of violence at Uhumora, the home town of the Speaker of the state house of assembly.
“Violence of any type, I abhor. These guys are not for the people, they are for themselves. If it is about the people, they can’t be killing themselves”, he said
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He said Labour Party is worried and sees itself as target of attack in the coming election, adding that it is disingenuous for anyone to link the party to violence, adding ” I have already laid complaints to the police at Abuja, and I am urging the police to be proactive and nip every threat of violence in the nud before and during the election”.
While describing the state of affairs in Edo State in terms of infrastructure as “desperate situation in need of serious intervention”, the labour party candidate said if elected governor by the grace of God, he would turn things around for good and uplift the People’s living conditions.
He said from going round, they discovered that several communities across the state lack basic social amenities of life, citing Urhonigbe and Eme-Ora that have not had electricity for the last 10 and four years, respectively.
“From our observations, we discovered that many of the communities lack roads, schools, heath centres and other facilities.
“The situation we saw is nightmare but this is the situation of the Edo people on a daily basis, the farmers are unable to evaluate their produce to the markets.
“The situation is not only in the hinterland, the approach to Benin City, the State capital, all the roads are a nightmare, flooding everywhere.
“The state of affairs I have presented is the misgovernance of the APC and PDP that have been in the helm of affairs of the state for the past 25 years”, he said.
The Labour Party candidate further stated that poverty has been weaponized which has made politics monetized, citing many of the communities the party took its campaign to, where the demanded for provision of transformers, construction of their roads and other facilities before they could give party a listening ear.
He said contrary to the claim by the state government of siting health centres in every ward of the state, “our visit showed the government fell short.
“We have seen schools that are in such decrepit conditions and from our discovery, the Government at all levels have become transactional and abandoned their responsibilities to the people”. he declared.
