By Ighomuaye Lucky. O
A stalwart of the Labour Party in Edo State, Chief Patrick Eholor has said that the people of the state will not make the same mistake twice by voting the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election rather they will vote for the Labour Party (LP).
He said the people voted for the APC in the last presidential election and have still not recovered from the hardship its government has thrown the country into.
He also predicted a landslide victory for the LP in the September 21st Edo state governorship election, just as he boasted that if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was to conduct the election in the state today, that the party will win the poll.
Eholor said that given the hardship foisted on the entire Nigerians by the APC, Edo people are not ready to vote for them to sustain the current suffering in the state and Nigeria in general, adding that as for the PDP, the party is engrossed in crisis therefore, they have no hope of winning the election.
The human rights activist however appealed to the federal government led by Bola Tinubu not to interfere in the forthcoming Edo election, rather he should occupy himself on how to bring out Nigerians from the hardship and suffering the APC government has thrown Nigerians into.
Eholor also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission not to yield to likely pressures from the federal government to manipulate the electoral processes in favour of a particular political party.
“To do that is to set the pathway towards the destruction of the very foundation of democracy in Nigeria which the people suffered to enthrone” he said.
While urging INEC to prove that they are truly unbiased umpires by allowing Edo people to vote their choice on election day, Eholor also begged the electoral to use the Edo election as a showpiece of what to be expected in subsequent elections in the country by making the exercise credible.
He equally cautioned the security agents not to let politicians use them to do dirty jobs by intimidating the voters on election day, reminding them that their duty is to maintain law and order to ensure that the election is free and fair.
On the crisis rocking the Labour Party, Eholor said it wasn’t peculiar to the party as it was a global phenomenon that affects political parties across the world. He however, said that the crisis will not affect the chances of the party of winning the election in September.
He promised to remain in the party, pointing out that having sacrificed so much resources to build the party the question of leaving the party does not arise, saying that efforts are on to resolving the crisis peacefully.
