A governorship aspirant of the Labour Party, Mr Kenneth Imansuangbon, has asked the leadership of the party to declare him the winner of the party primary held last Friday.
At the end of the primary held at the Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre in Benin, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata, was declared the winner with a total vote of 316.
Three other candidates also lay claims to the LP Governorship Tickets: Hilton Idahosa, Anderson Asemota, and Monday Mawah.
Imansuangbon, popularly known as the “Rice Man,” said the processes leading to the conduct of the ward congresses were corrupted by several irregularities, despite assurances from the leadership of the party for a level playing field.
The LP governorship aspirant, in a statement issued in Benin City, gave the party’s leadership a one-week ultimatum to reverse the decision to accept Akpata as the party’s candidate.
He threatened to institute legal action against the party if the decision was not reversed.
Imansuagbon had previously failed to win party primaries in both the All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
In 2011, an intervention by the late Chief Tony Anenih caused him victory at the PDP primary. In 2016, he contested under the APC and lost to Governor Godwin Obaseki. In 2020, he stepped down for Governor Obaseki to win the PDP primary.
Imansuangbon, who condemned the processes of the LP primary, said the APC and the PDP were very strategic by picking their candidates from Edo Central senatorial district and noted that if the LP was serious about winning the governorship election, it would learn from the strategic calculations of the other major parties.
He also said the processes were skewed by the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, and the State Chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi, to favour Akpata.
The statement reads, “I want to first of all use this opportunity to thank my well wishes and the staff of Pacesetters Schools for standing by me during my political sojourn. I also extend my thanks to the Edo people and my supporters across the state.
“My interest in politics is to change the narratives of Edo and improve the lives of the people. I want an Edo where jobs will be available, food will be cheap, and our teeming unemployed youth will be meaningfully engaged, but the godfathers refused democracy to strive in Edo.
“After 21 years in politics, I do not think it is proper or politically right for political parties to skew party primaries to favour a particular candidate. I hope, one day, democracy will be allowed to thrive in Edo.
” I have worked hard in the last 21 years to impact the lives of our suffering Edo people with my hard-earned personal resources, but unfortunately, anti-democratic forces will not allow the free will of the people to prevail.
I am issuing a one-week ultimatum to the leadership of the LP to reverse the recognition of Akpata as our party’s candidate. I should be declared the winner.”
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