Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata, the Labour Party, LP, candidate for the forthcoming Edo State Governorship Elections, is a man once again on a rendezvous with history—more on that shortly. The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) left a prestigious and without doubt favourably lucrative legal practice to focus on service to his state and people, and thereby cement his legacy on the indelible sands of time.
Born on October 7, 1972, Akpata earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Benin, Edo State, in 1992. After Law School and being called to the bar in 1993, he served in the National Youth Service Corps in Kano State. He began his legal practice in Delta State under the tutelage of Dr. Mudiaga Odje, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, OFR.
In 1996, Akpata moved to Lagos and teamed up with his cousin, Oghogho Akpata, who had just set up the law firm Templars the previous year. It is important to note that Akpata moved to Templars at the very young age of 23.
As a practising lawyer, Akpata certainly had many highlights, such as his chairmanship of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL), where he helped shape commercial law practice in Nigeria. However, no highlight could be more momentous or prestigious than his ascension to the presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2020.
As one well-known news outlet, Nairametrics, put it at the time, “Olumide Akpata defeats two SANs to emerge NBA President”, which underscored just how significant the feat Akpata had achieved was. It is for this and other reasons, as we shall see presently, that we began this article by declaring that Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata is once again on a rendezvous with history.
A conscientious Edolite, Akpata’s foray into serving his state and people comes at great personal cost, given his legal pedigree. His action at this crucial point in time in the life of Edo State and her people is anchored on a personal conviction to serve. If a life of relative comfort and ease was all that Akpata craved, he might as well have stayed back as a senior partner and the Head of the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group at the prestigious Templars Law, where he earned his living, as a highly regarded lawyer, until his resignation on 31st of August 2023.
However, buoyed by the conviction that a life dedicated to personal gain alone is not a complete life, he chose to resign from legal practice on that fateful day in order to serve his state and people.
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Hear him: “For too long, we’ve witnessed politics prioritised over the needs and aspirations of our hard-working citizens. In the last eight years, we’ve been burdened with self-serving programmes and policies that have only benefited their makers rather than the vast majority of our people. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! This is a clarion call for unity, progress, and electing a government that truly serves THE PEOPLE!! Together, we will pave the way for an Edo State where every voice is heard, every dream is nurtured, and every citizen has an equal opportunity to thrive.”
Interestingly, the Edo State that Akpata dreams of building cannot be conjured out of thin air by the same clique of politicians who have already laid a humongous debt burden on the state. As it stands now, the next administration in Edo State will inherit over N600 billion in debt.
What is most appalling is that the bulk of this unsustainable debt was accrued for politicians, contractors, and their cronies to live large, while the millions of Edo people continue to endure a level of hardship that cannot be justified, given the resources of the state.
It is for this reason that Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata has declared, “E don do!” as his rallying cry. In his view, Edo people must come before politics.
As would be expected, a few brickbats have been thrown at Akpata for daring to offer himself for service. But Akpata is a proven leader with the capacity to build a prosperous Edo State and the compassion to place Edo people at the heart of governance. As such, he will not be deterred by petty annoyances from hired troublemakers. His focus is entirely on taking the state back from those who believe the commonwealth of Edo belongs to them. Akpata is keen on making sure the resources of Edo State are used to improve the lives of Edo people.
Already, through his many philanthropic deeds, Akpata has proven himself as a man who aligns with the people of Edo State and their aspirations. For a recent example, look no further than the 3rd of April 2024, when His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, CFR, the Grand Patron of the Benin Club 1931, inaugurated the Senator Olu Akpata Memorial Clinic, built, equipped, and donated by Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata, at the prestigious Benin Club 1931.
The clinic, named after Senator (Chief) Emmanuel Idahosa Oluwafemi Akpata, more popularly known as Senator Olu Akpata, the first indigenous President of Benin Club 1931, once again demonstrated Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata’s selfless nature. By building and donating the clinic, he sought to, in his own words, “create a lasting healthcare facility in tribute to my beloved uncle, Senator Olu Akpata.”
The Labour Party candidate went on to express his desire that the new clinic bearing his uncle’s name, “will provide essential healthcare for club members and residents and thereby ensure that Senator Olu Akpata’s legacy of dedication to community uplift lives on.”
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Beyond using his hard earned personal income to build facilities for the use of others, Akpata is well known for silently supporting the education and business startups of many Edolites. Today, Edo State is burdened by a huge debt created by politicians who have not made Edo people their priority. The state needs a compassionate leader to steer the affairs of the state to more prosperous times.
As an old English proverb has it, “cometh the hour, cometh the man.” The hour has come for Edo State to be rescued from misgovernance that fails to prioritise the people of Edo. Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata is the man who will get the job done.
On account of the narratives supra, as well as the clear messages in his electioneering statewide, THE CONCLAVE Board of Editors has endorsed Olumide Akpata for the job of taking Edo State into good governance and prosperity.
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