Edo 2024: I Will Not Be Bullied Out, Olumide Akpata Warns Labour Party

Alleging a plot by the leadership of Labour Party to rig the Tuesday ward delegate election expected to choose the party’s candidate in the Edo State 2024 governorship election, one of the leading aspirants, Olumide Akpata has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to call the party to order.

Olumide Akpata in the petition to the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu alleged among others that the Labour Party has as at Sunday, February 18, 2024 demonstrated any sincere efforts towards conducting a free and fair delegate election.

Olumide Akpata said that the inaction of Labour Party has fueled conspiracy theories of a plot to rig the election towards favouring a particular unnamed aspirant.

He said:

Attention: Prof Mahmood Yakubu

Dear Sir,

URGENT CONCERNS OVER THE LACK OF PREPAREDNESS OF THE LABOUR PARTY FOR THE EDO STATE GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARIES.

I write to you in my capacity as an aspirant for the Edo State gubernatorial ticket on the platform of the Labour Party (“LP” or “the Party”). The purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention the lack of preparedness and transparency surrounding the Labour Party’s planned primaries to produce a gubernatorial candidate for the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Edo State.  

As you are aware, the Electoral Act 2022 mandates political parties to conduct transparent primaries to produce candidates and also mandates the Independent National Electoral Commission (“INEC” or “the Commission”) to stipulate timelines for conducting these primaries.

As of today, Sunday, 18 February 2024, less than 48 hours to the LP Ward Congresses and about 96 hours to the LP Gubernatorial Primaries, I am constrained to inform you that the Labour Party has exhibited little or no preparedness for the said Ward Congresses scheduled for 20 February, 2024, to elect delegates who will vote in the primaries slated for February 23, 2024, which, by the way, is the last possible day for political parties to conduct primaries before the INEC mandated date of February 24, 2024, for all political parties to upload names of gubernatorial candidates who emerged from party primaries.

The dearth of information and transparency surrounding the primary election process has cast serious doubts on the sincerity of the Labour Party in conducting fair, credible, and democratic primaries to produce a gubernatorial candidate. Numerous aspirants, including myself, have observed with dismay the conspicuous absence of transparency in the process, which has led to a mass exodus of aspirants from the race. This departure of aspirants is not merely a loss to the democratic process but also a testament to the erosion of trust and confidence in the integrity of the Party’s leadership. All of the aspirants, without exception, who have withdrawn from the process so far, have voiced concerns about its undemocratic nature. While some have diplomatically cited “personal reasons” for withdrawing, others have been more forthcoming in directly alleging that the Party leadership plans to handpick a preferred aspirant regardless of the outcome of any primaries held.

The Party has also failed to provide critical information to  aspirants, party members, and all relevant stakeholders including INEC who will require this information will also allow INECto effectively perform its statutory duties in monitoring the process. The following issues highlight the lack of preparedness of the LP for the primaries and the statutory congresses leading up to the primaries:

1. There is a complete blackout of specific information on venues for the 192 Ward Congresses scheduled to hold in 48 hours i.e. on the 20th of February, 2024. If the Party has not made arrangements to communicate venues to aspirants who need to mobilise agents and supporters to monitor the process, how does it expect INEC officials to deploy to these Wards and play their statutory role?
2. The Party has failed to publish any specific guidelines detailing a step-by-step process governing the Ward Congress and primaries. This has led to various interpretations of the process by Party officials. I have been inundated with calls from aspirants and Party officials alike asking for clarification on guidelines for delegates, procedures for voting, accreditation of voters, etc. As of today, just two days before the ward congresses, these critical guidelines are unknown to aspirants.
3. The Party has yet to officially communicate the list of screened delegates-aspirants who will stand for elections at the ward congress. The credentials of the delegates determine the legitimacy of the primaries. As a key stakeholder, I am up to this moment not privy to any list of screened delegates-aspirants. To make matters even worse, forms for those aspiring to be delegates were sold by both the national headquarters of the Party and the state chapter of the Party, with arguments still ongoing on which of the two forms or if both forms would be accepted.
4. Also, the Party is yet to reveal the appointed Electoral Officers to conduct the planned Congresses. The independence and neutrality of the appointed officials are key to a transparent outcome. Their identities and credentials should be communicated to all aspirants for vetting ahead of the exercise. but we remain totally in the dark.
5. Our fears have been magnified by the reluctance of the Party to convene a stakeholder meeting to brief aspirants on preparations, despite repeated appeals to the Party hierarchy to do the same. The venue and logistics arrangements for transporting election materials across the 192 Wards also remain unknown to aspirants to date.
6. I have also personally confirmed from the leadership of law enforcement and security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and Department of State Security (DSS), who have stated unequivocally that they have not received any formal notification from the Party that it intends to hold Ward Congresses and/or Party primaries in Edo State on the 20^th and 23^rd of February respectively. They also confirmed they are unaware of any security arrangements made by the Party for the ward congresses and primaries as they have yet to receive official communication on venues, materials, etc. Mr Chairman, you will agree with me that this is a recipe for chaos, as there is already palpable tension in the Party, and an absence of security to nip any threat of violence in the bud, does not augur well for the Party or successful conduct of free, fair, and transparent primaries.

I have become constrained to speak out at this point because my repeated attempts to get the Party leadership to see reason and provide transparency around preparations for the primaries have failed to elicit any positive response. Rather, my candid inquiries have been met with disdain and an attempt to bully me into silence. 

However, as a leading aspirant who has invested enormous time, energy, effort, and goodwill and built an extensive grassroots network, I owe it to my teeming supporters across Edo State to ensure that due process is adhered to in selecting the Party’s flagbearer for the elections. Keeping silent in the face of arbitrary actions by the Party leadership will amount to a betrayal of the trust my supporters have placed in me to represent their interests. I stand on the side of transparency, due process, and internal democracy. I refuse to remain silent, and thereby allow my credibility and integrity to be used to legitimise what is shaping out to be a flawed and undemocratic exercise.

I feel further compelled to speak up because, according to some conspiracy theories being bandied about, I have been fingered as the intended beneficiary of this opaque process. Nothing can be further from the truth. If these theories are to be believed, I definitely am not privy to any such plans as I will never lend myself to be used for such perfidy

The complete opacity around the Party’s primaries preparations points to a lack of readiness to conduct any credible process that can stand legal scrutiny. Moreso, the reluctance to carry aspirants along fuels fears that the eventual primaries outcome may have been predetermined regardless of any phantom Congress and the primaries conducted, to rubber stamp a fabricated result.

For emphasis and to reiterate the point, the Labour Party’s Ward Congresses are an enormous logistical endeavour that needs to take place simultaneously across Edo State’s 192 political Wards. Less than 48 hours before the said congresses, the Party has demonstrated a troubling level of unpreparedness which suggests that they may be unaware of or underestimating the magnitude of the task at hand.

It is on this premise that I write to you to use your good offices to prevail on the LP leadership to come clean on preparations for its primaries in Edo State. Key actions steps required are: 

1. Immediate communication of ALL venues for ward congresses holding on February 20th to INEC, aspirants and Party members to guide the deployment of monitors, electoral officers and agents.
2. Publication of a step-by-step process the Party intends to adopt for congresses and primaries to guide aspirants and officials. 
3. Release of the screened delegate list to promote transparency
4. Identification of electoral officials to conduct the process.
5. Convening an urgent stakeholder meeting to brief aspirants. 
6. Communicating logistics plans to INEC and aspirants.

I believe that transparency is critical in electoral activities of this nature as it promotes democracy and the rule of law. Where the LP refuses or fails to exhibit transparency in its preparations for the Edo primaries, the foundation would have been laid for bitter disputes of any outcome, regardless of who emerges as flagbearer of the Party.

INEC has a crucial role to play in protecting the sanctity of the choice of flagbearers by political parties. Your intervention at this stage will be pivotal to ensuring the LP adheres strictly to the spirit behind the reforms in the Electoral Act 2022 on transparent primaries. Turning a blind eye will mean surrendering to impunity and illegality.

I am aware that INEC has demonstrated courage in the past to stand on the side of due process in political parties and entrench internal Party democracy. The LP’s primaries in Edo State provide you with another opportunity to walk the talk. 

Mr Chairman, if things go awry, it could result in pre-election disputes to which INEC will inevitably be joined as a necessary party, thereby tying down its already meager resources and leaving the Commission to grapple with yet another unnecessary and avoidable dispute that could have been averted had the right thing been done and the warning signs heeded.

I count on your leadership to ensure the Labour Party complies fully with the spirit of the Electoral Act 2022, as the timelines stipulated are already upon us.

Let me reiterate my personal commitment and preparedness to participate fully in the democratic process, with the best of intentions and to accept the outcome of a free and fair process – which can only occur where the Party provides a level playing field for all concerned. This letter  is therefore  a clarion call in the overall interest of the deepening democracy.

I look forward to your swift intervention with respect to the foregoing. Please remain assured of my highest regards.

Yours faithfully,

OLUMIDE OSAIGBOVO AKPATA

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