The deputy governor of Edo state, Godwin Omobayo and the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Edo, Olumide Akpata, have clashed over last week’s invasion by thugs of the state secretariat of LP in Benin, the state capital.

Akpata, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), directly accused the 37-year-old Edo deputy governor, who contested as LP’s House of Representatives candidate for the Akoko-Edo constituency in the 2023 general election but lost, of orchestrating the invasion of the party’s secretariat and the assault on innocent LP members and staff, allegedly in collusion with the suspended Youth Leader of the LP, Kenneth Omusi.

The LP’s candidate in Edo further asserted that the desperate Omobayo’s actions were aimed at pleasing his boss, Godwin Obaseki, a prominent figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but declared that these efforts had failed.

He pledged to utilize all relevant laws to prosecute those involved in the invasion of LP’s secretariat, including the politicians behind the malicious act.

Akpata said: “I want to sound a note of warning to the opposition in Edo State that we will not tolerate any interference in the activities of our party (LP). We advise them to prepare to meet us in the field, rather than trying to use an underhand method to undermine the LP, a moving train. Anybody who decides to stand in the front of the train would do so at his peril.

“You are aware that the current deputy governor of Edo State was taken from among our (LP’s) fold and appointed by the current governor, and he must have assured his paymaster that LP will be decimated and that the party does not exist in Edo. People pretend to be legends in their minds. Omobayo has no such relevance or consequence, not in Akoko-Edo LGA, and not in Edo State’s LP.

“We have photographs and video evidence that Edo deputy governor and Omusi are working together. The sad incident in LP’s state secretariat in Benin City is part of their script to create the impression that there is chaos in our party, but we are organised and ready to win the governorship election. The only small fitness walk that we did from Ring Road to TV Road in Benin City was the cause of their actions against LP. This is just a preamble of our readiness.”

Edo deputy governor, through his Chief Press Secretary, Victor Adefemi, however, accused Akpata of a malicious attempt to associate him with the crises rocking LP in the state, describing the allegations as unfounded.

Omobayo added that: “A renowned lawyer (Akpata), who is a former President of NBA, and vying for the seat of the number one citizen of Edo State, should show decorum when making public statements. This was not the case with Akpata, who threw caution to the wind.

“I do not take politics as a means of survival, but as a hobby to make all happy. We have to show that if we have power, we will not ostracize people. I am loyal to patriotism, to my people, to justice, equity, and good life. Any political party that does not follow these principles of life cannot have my loyalty.

“My decision to accept the PDP’s genuine offer of deputy governorship was predicated on the sound principle of equity and vision for Edo people and the state,” he added.

The Edo deputy governor also asked Akpata to excuse him from LP’s crises in Edo, stating that he had no place for violence and hatred in his style of politics. (The Nation)

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