Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor of Edo State, has spoken on the state’s zoning dispute. In a Twitter thread run by Obidient movement members, Edo South resident Akpata admitted that the State has imbalances. He clarified, nevertheless, that the Labour Party chose to offer a governorship to everyone in order to avoid preventing itself from selecting the most qualified applicant. He stated that since you cannot talk about zoning from the outside while you have not entered, the party will address the matter when it comes to power.
He said, “I will speak to the issue of zoning because I followed the conversations online and all of that. And I know that many are not quite happy about the outcome in the Edo State, particularly in Labour Party.
I’ll just say that the party decided to throw open the issue of who will be it’s candidate to all parts of the state because this is our first real outing with regards to the governorship of Edo State.
“And the decision was taken that we will not circumscribe ourselves to any particular zone. And If we now decided that we will zone the ticket to one side only, we may lose out. We may deprive ourselves of the opportunity of bringing a star performer. And at the end of the day, we might win the battle but lose the war as it were.”
“So I understand the decision of the party. At the end of the day, many of us ran. Edo Central ran, Edo North, and Edo South. And the members of the party decided that I was the best candidate for this election.”
“So that having happened, we are now at the stage where we will go for the elections. And then when we go for the elections, Labour Party will now come out with its own pronouncement regarding zoning going forward. Because you can’t be on the outside talking zoning when you have not entered.”
“So that was the thinking of the party and I don’t quarrel with it. I see merit in that argument. Having said that, I recognised that there are certain imbalances in Edo State that must be addressed, and i assure that Labour Party will address those imbalances.”
