-Deborah Akinyosoye
The Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in the last month Edo State gubernatorial election, Olumide Akpata, has said that he will not challenge the result of the election.
Akpata emerged third with 22, 763 votes in the election.
He lost to the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Monday Okpebholo, who raked in 291,667 votes to defeat PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who came second with 247,274 votes.
Three weeks after the contest, Akpata said on Saturday that he wouldn’t approach the Tribunal, despite citing irregularities and electoral malpractice in the exercise.
“My decision not to contest the election results at the tribunal is not an indication of compromise; rather, it is a strategic move aimed at redirecting our energies towards systemic changes that our democracy desperately needs.
“This moment calls for a paradigm shift in our approach to electoral reform. We cannot continue to operate within a system that incentivises manipulation and disenfranchisement,” he said.