Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi is the Chairman of Labour Party in Edo State and one those who played a significant role in the emergence of Barrister Olumide Akpata the party’s standard bearer in the September 21 gubernatorial election. In this interview with OJIEVA EHIOSUN in Benin, he spoke on a number of issues relating to the state governorship election. Excerpts:
It is less than one month to Edo State Governorship election, what are the chances of Labour Party in this election?
We are happy that Edo people are counting days to the election, it is an election where Edo people will liberate themselves from shackles of bad governance, an election where the people will decide their future and that of future generations, an election where the people will make a choice of happiness, or a choice of sadness. It is meant to eradicate godfatherism completely from our politics and it is an election where the good people of Edo will decide who becomes their governor for the next four years.
As to your question, yes Labour Party has brighter chances of winning the election than the other political parties. The reason is that we are in serious campaign, telling the electorates what we have to offer; you can see that other political parties are not campaigning most especially the APC. Labour Party is the party to beat in this election.
The general opinion of people in Edo State is that Labour Party believes that only Edo South will give them the victory, that the party is not popular in other senatorial zones. What is your reaction to this?
That is not true, Labour Party is the party of the masses, we are known in all the 18 Local Government Councils across the State. If only you are opportune to see our rallies in other Local Governments you will know that we have what it takes to win the election. Unequivocally, Labour Party is the party of the moment. Our great supporters cut across the 192 Wards in Edo State, and come September 21, the people will come out and vote Barrister Olumide Akpata of the LP into power.
Looking at the three major political parties and their gladiators in terms of composure, articulation, acceptability, pedigree, credibility ethics etc, does your candidate have these attributes or the quality to manage people?
Yes. Our governorship candidate, Akpata, is known for his track record. I haven’t seen any other candidate that is comparable to him. What is the pedigree of the APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo? He is completely unsellable, a candidate that has nothing to tell the good people of Edo. We have had enough of political gimmicks, nobody can deceive our electorates anymore. Okpebholo cannot compete in an election with the Labour Party candidate. From experience so far, their candidate is completely unsellable, and such person cannot handle the affairs of a local government let alone a state like Edo where there are millions of highly intelligent people.
For the PDP candidate, yes he’s a good man with intimidating credentials, but with the numerous court cases he is currently battling with, no Edo person will risk his vote for such a person. Akpata is the man at the centre. And by the special grace of God, LP will take over Government House come September 21 2024.
You will agree with the thinking that LP and PDP are afraid of the ‘Federal Might’ because the general view of the electorates is that the Presidency will use its power to checkmate other political parties. Do you think that will be possible in this era of political consciousness?
Federal Might, is something you find in the voice of political analysts. It is not something somebody should introduce in terms of checking out how people should win, but because of our kind of society, they bring in all manner of cheap things into discussion of politics. Otherwise there is nothing like Federal Might, but because the country is corrupt, the federal government or anybody would want to take away what they do not have. So, for us in Labour Party, we are ready to go anywhere with everyone of them that is participating in this election. And we will check were the Federal Might. is coming from. It is not a factor we should take into consideration right now. In a decent society, governments don’t interfere in democratic elections. Again, this is not presidential election, this is not general election, it is a state election. We do not need any interferences from the federal government.
The only thing the federal government should should do is to ensure that the agency that is saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election does its job.
Judging from your experience in previous elections in Nigeria, what is your message to the electorates in Edo State?
The electorates are aware of the current economic situation in Nigeria, they know what the country is going through right now, there is anguish, bitterness, poverty and suffering in the land. Our people do not need a prophet to tell them that the APC government has failed us. They are aware of the situation in their political and social environments; our people must take the bull by the horns, it is time for them to make a decision that will either give them a better life or impoverish them the more.
They should come out in their millions and queue behind the Labour Party candidate, Akpata’s. LP is the only party that has not been tested. The other two political parties have nothing but pains and death for the people of Nigeria. It is time for a genuine change.
Our candidate is sound, he has distinguished himself in various offices that he has served. You cannot find any bad record traceable to him, he has occupied one of the highly sensitive positions in Nigeria, President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the very first time in the history of NBA, when a non SAN was elected as president. He was meritorious in the service to that body; before he came in, NBA was almost moribund, but he brought it back to life. Remarkably when he was leaving he left N1.5bn in the account of the NBA.
The court case against your candidate will that not affect his chances?
That court case is not a distraction to us at all. It is insignificant to us; we have won him in almost all the sittings of the court. Yes, the man in question, Barrister Kenneth Imansuangbon, knows he is going nowhere with that case. If you look at it, the content of what they are taking to court is worthless. So, we won’t allow that to distract us. Our focus now is on winning the election and giving Edo people hope for the future.
Finally, in all of these, how would LP battle the sitting governor and the PDP candidate?
We are prepared for the election, we are ready to go to the polls come September 21. We are confident of victory, we have the masses behind us and they are ready to vote Barrister Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party.
We will vote and defend our votes.
We won’t allow any one to deceive us again.
