● Berates Obaseki’s “helicopter governance” in Edo
A leading governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in Edo State, Mr Olumide Akpata, on Tuesday, attacked the insinuations that he was being sponsored for the guber election by Governor Godwin Obaseki, even as he declared that he was not Obaseki’s agent, mole, representative or anything.
Akpata made his magisterial rebuttal when he responded to a series of questions on Arise TV’s “The Morning Show” co-anchored by Rufai Oseni and Ayo Ese.
While he agreed that Obaseki was his brother and relative, he said he disagreed with his (Obaseki’s) style of governance because “it lacks empathy or compassion.”
Looking straight into the eyes of his interviewers, Akpata challenged them to go Oba’s market in Benin to do a vox pop to find out why the touch of Governor Obaseki was leprous.
He said that the response of market women in Benin about anybody they believed was being sponsored by Governor Obaseki was that the person should not be voted for because it was Obaseki who sent him or her.
Responding to a question on zoning of the governorship ticket, Akpata said that whereas he had no problem with zoning of the ticket, he, however believed that it won’t work at this point.
Akpata blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for paying lip service to the zoning principle over the years.
He stated that what would work in the circumstance was for the Labour Party to make a strong decision to cede the ticket to Edo South where it won the senatorial seat and two out of the five House of Representatives seats in the 2023 general election.
He explained that after winning the election, the party would engage in conversations to consummate the rotational principle, stressing that it would work under the LP arrangement in contradistinction to some states where the majority tribes had always dominated and appropriated the governorship position.
Akpata said he joined the LP because he believed that it approximated a party that would help bring the people back into the equation, stressing that the party had the people as its focus.
He stated that on his part, he decided to step out to represent the people and give voice to the voiceless in Edo State.
In response to a question on the PDP’s popularity and incumbency factor, Akpata poohpoohed the assertion, saying that “PDP has never had it so bad in Edo State under Governor Godwin Obaseki. If you do a poll, they are at the lowest ebb. The Edo people are eager to see the back of PDP.”
He mocked the PDP government and the governor whom he lampooned for running what he described as “Helicopter Governance” due to the litany of bad roads in the state.
According to him: “The roads to parts of the State are bad and my governor flies in helicopter to wherever he is going. My governor is not in touch with the people. Empathy is lacking. Compassion is missing. There is lack of healthcare facilities. Without these, there is no government, and my governor has failed.”
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