Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party candidate for the September 21, governorship election in Edo State has expressed confidence that the party will win the election in a free and fair contest.
BusinessDay reports that Akpata made the remarks during the inauguration of the party’s governorship campaign council in Benin City.
He said, with the calibre of members of the council and other sub-committees, the election is already won.
According to him, “I am confidence, hopeful and I am sure of victory comes September 21, governorship election.
“With the calibre of those that made up the campaign council, the party has chosen the right people to lead the party to Dennis Osadebay Avenue.
“If you listen to the names of those mentioned, they are arrays of very faithful and loyal party men and women and most of them are very experienced.
“We also have come up with the innovation of deputy director generals for each zone. And we have picked three distinguished gentlemen to run each of the zone as deputy director general to assist Reverend Sam Omede as our director general.
“We also have our woman leader as the chairperson of the women mobilisation committee. So, you can understand why i am beaming with confidence and excited.
“These are just the few of the committees we have mentioned. We also have coordinators for all the 18 local government areas. Our campaigns would be present in all our local governments,” he said.
While noting that the journey to Dennis Osadebay Avenue is not an easy one, he said you need those that had worked the road before, understand what campaign is about and politicking about.
He said with choice of Reverend Sam Omede as the Director- General of the Governorship campaign council, the party is sure of victory.
Earlier, Kelly Ogbaloi, the State Party Chairman, who inaugurated campaign council said members of the council have a mandate to win more eligible voters the party.
Ogbaloi noted that there are over 30 strategic committees mandated to work in collaboration with the Sam Omede-led campaign council.
He expressed optimism that the party is sure of winning the governorship election as a result of the lack of confidence the people had in the two major parties that had ruled the state since the 1999 political dispensation in the state.
He said the party would explore all available opportunity to ensure all the stakeholders in the political space of Edo State are galvanised to support and cast their vote for the governorship candidate of the party, Olumide Akpata and his running mate, Yusuf Asamah Kadiri,
The state Labour Party, who said there is only one governorship candidate of the party, however, urged members of the public to disregard any other information concerning the party’s candidate.
He said that apart from the state campaign council, there are senatorial, local government and ward coordinators to help market and project the party’s candidate across all the nooks and crannies of the 18 local government areas, the three senatorial districts, nine Federal constituencies and 192 wards.
On his part, the Director General of the campaign council, Sam Omede, who said the council has a big task ahead of it, added that with God all things would be easy for them.
Omede, said the major task of the council is to coordinate and work with all the committees to go round the state for the purpose of wooing more eligible voters to the party.
“We are going to send people out there to deliver our message. The message is that we want to change landlord of Dennis Osadebay Avenue.
“We have had APC and PDP landlords in Edo State Government House, but let us now try Labour Party landlord and see the difference.
“Our logo speak for us that we care about the people. Our people are suffering, you can see life is more difficult now in Nigeria. The artisans, the common man belongs to Labour. And we want to galvanise all these groups to go for the election. The victory shall be ours,” he stated.
