10 months ago
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A Labour Party (LP) aspirant in the upcoming Edo governorship election, Olumide Akpata, has said that allegations against him claiming he sponsored a protest in the party secretariat are untrue.
He insisted he did not join the party to destroy it but build it.
Akpata stated this in Benin on Tuesday.
According to him, the baseless rumours and insinuations mischievously circulated are totally false.
He noted that he had no knowledge of the protest and did not sanction it in any way.
“It has come to my attention that there was a protest on Sunday, Feb. 4, at the Labour Party State Secretariat in Benin, which allegedly turned violent.
“The baseless rumours and insinuations that have been mischievously circulated that the protesters were carrying out my bidding are totally false, unfounded and quite frankly ridiculous.
“I am a loyal and dedicated member of the labour party, who has invested significant time, energy, and resources towards building and strengthening the party across the state since I joined.
“It is, therefore, both laughable and utterly despicable that I would be linked to any kind of violent protest at the party secretariat,” Akpata said.
Speaking further, the gubernatorial aspirant alleged that those peddling the rumours are against his emergence as the LP gubernatorial flag bearer.
“In their desperation, they have resorted to underhanded tactics and smear campaigns to undermine my widespread credibility, acceptability, and support base within and outside the party.
“Amusingly, this is quite similar to an earlier campaign of calumny that sought to link me to acts of violence meted out against a former National Youth Leader of the party in Benin
“This is yet another ludicrous attempt to unjustly give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, he added.
