Labour Party’s 2024 candidate in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has explained why he has not yet contested the results of the recent election.

Akpata, who finished third in the election results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said the election was filled with many irregularities.

On Sunday, INEC declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.

Okpebholo received 291,667 votes, beating Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Asue Ighodalo, who had 247,274 votes. Akpata finished third with 22,763 votes.

In an interview with Channels TV on Wednesday, Akpata, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), expressed dissatisfaction with the final results and the election process that led to Okpebholo’s victory.

When asked about taking the matter to court, Akpata said his legal team is still deciding on the next step. He will decide his next move after consulting his team and the party.

He said,

“It is a decision that the Labour Party and I will have to take jointly whether or not we will challenge the outcome of the election.

“I am going to be meeting with my lawyers, the Labour Party will also be meeting with its lawyers and then we will come to a decision whether or not we will be challenging the outcome of the election.

“It is important for me to take a back seat and allow my lawyers based on the evidence that we have and the evidence that is still being collected to make the determination on my behalf,”