Less than 24 hours after Barrister Olumide Akpata emerged as candidate of the Julius Abure-led national leadership of the Labour Party for the September 21 Edo State governorship election, the Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led faction has also unveiled its candidate for the election.
OsunDailyNG reports that Akpata was declared the party’s candidate in a governorship primary by the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, on Friday in Benin City.
The immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association was declared candidate with 316 votes to defeat other aspirants.
However, the Apapa-led faction of the party in a letter dated February 22, 2024 and addressed to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Abuja submitted the names of the party’s candidate and deputy governorship candidate respectively.
The letter sighted by OsunDailyNG in several social media platforms including the WhatsApp group of the Labour Party in Edo State was signed by Alhaji Lamidi Apapa as the Acting National Chairman and Alhaji Saleh Lawan as the Acting National Secretary.
He gave the names of the governorship candidate as Barrister Anderson Uwadiae Asemota while his running mate is Barrister Monday Ojore Mawah.
Apapa said the governorship candidate and his running mate emerged at a primary conducted on February 22, 2024 in Benin City.
When contacted on the phone, Apapa confirmed the letter.
He simply said, “Yes it is true. The letter is from us.”
