Kelly Ogbalo, the Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Edo State, stated that the party would have won the recent governorship election if it had been free and fair.
He made these comments during an interview with reporters in Benin, the state capital, on Monday, September 23.
Ogbalo alleged that the election was plagued by irregularities, including open vote-buying that security agencies failed to address. He said, “Labour Party won the election but was not allowed to take possession.
The election was marred by serious irregularities. There was open vote-buying, and the security agencies failed to check this anomaly.”
He emphasized, “Where votes were bought, and with manipulation of results here and there, what do you expect?”
When asked if the LP would challenge the election results in court, Ogbalo mentioned that the party had not yet convened a state council meeting to decide on the next steps.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC as the winner of the election on September 22. Okpebholo received 291,667 votes, defeating Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes. The LP’s candidate, Mr. Olumide Akpata, finished third with 22,763 votes.
