As the Edo State gubernatorial election approaches, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made serious allegations against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party, accusing them of forming an “unholy alliance” to influence the outcome of the September 21, 2024, polls.
In a statement released by Rev. Olu Martins, Deputy Director General of Media and Publicity for the PDP Campaign Council, the party claims that the Labour Party has partnered with the APC to undermine the democratic process and bring hardship to Edo people.
“It has become clear, even to the least discerning, that the Labour Party in Edo State has entered into an unholy pact with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to bring Edo people into the same suffering and bondage that Nigerians now reel in under the chokehold of the APC government at the centre,” Martins declared.
Martins further alleged that the APC and Labour Party’s collaboration is aimed at manipulating votes in the Edo South Senatorial District.
“This alliance seeks to take advantage of the fact that the Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, comes from Edo South Senatorial District to split the votes in the senatorial district, thereby reducing the APC’s deficit in the overall gubernatorial election scheduled for September 21,” Martins explained.
The PDP’s statement took a critical stance against the Labour Party, accusing it of working with the same political forces responsible for the economic hardships Nigerians have experienced in recent years.
“It is shocking that the Labour Party, who are aware of the suffering, pervasive gloom, and oppression that Nigerians have endured in the last nine years of draconian rule, maladministration, and gross mismanagement of the nation’s economy under the clutches of the APC, is now working with these same oppressors to bring similar suffering and bondage to Edo State,” Martins said.
The PDP warned Edo voters that casting a vote for the Labour Party would essentially mean supporting the APC, which it blames for the economic mismanagement and hardship faced by Nigerians.
The party urged voters to reject the APC and Labour Party in the upcoming election.
“We are calling on all Edo people to see through this smokescreen and know that a vote for the Labour Party in the forthcoming September 21 gubernatorial election is a vote indirectly cast for the APC, who are our oppressors-in-chief, whose government at the centre is superintending over the gradual liquidation of the Nigerian State,” the statement read.
Martins urged Edo residents to reject the APC and its alleged proxies, stressing the need to prevent the state from falling into the hands of those who would lead it into “suffering, torment, and dictatorship.”
“To prevent Edo’s descent into the suffering, torment, and dictatorship that Nigerians have endured under the stranglehold of the APC-led Federal Government, we urge Edo people to reject them in all their forms or guises, including through their proxy, the Labour Party,” he said.
Martins described Ighodalo as the best choice for Edo’s future and the person capable of ensuring sustainable growth and prosperity for the state.
“As we come out on September 21 to cast our votes, we must all know that a vote for the Labour Party is a vote for the continuation of APC’s devastating oppression and suppression of the people,” Martins warned.
“Vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, to continue on the path of sustained prosperity and accelerated development in our dear state,” he added.
