The Peter Obi Media Reach, POMR, has said that the support the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election is giving the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Saturday’s Edo state gubernatorial election,Barr Olumide Akpata, is based on his democratic belief and principles.
While reacting to accusations of hypocrisy from some people against Obi for supporting Akpata, POMR in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Ibrahim Umar, stated that Obi’s support for Akpata has changed the narrative in the state.
POMR noted that by accusing Obi of hypocrisy, the party’s opponents are ‘trying to divert attention from the issues that drive the election,’ adding that Obi has found Akpata suitable to be the governor of the state.
POMR further dismissed the claim that Obi was not supposed to support Akpata because his zone is not supposed to produce the next governor, and supporting him would be going against Obi’s long-standing principles on power rotation.
It noted that the party in Edo State also jettisoned zoning by failing to ‘zone their gubernatorial seat to any area in particular,’ adding that ‘delegates who voted Akpata to be the party’s candidate were strictly only Edo people from all the local government areas, including Edo central because they found him suited for their desires for the state.’
“Obi does not trade competence and reputation for zoning, and as a democrat, he will always respect the position of the majority, especially if it’s anchored on the track record of the candidate,” the statement stated.
It therefore dismissed the attack on Obi as ‘needless’ and described it as a way of distracting attention from issues that could move Edo State forward.
“Our advice for those bitter that Obi is campaigning for his party flag bearer is to leave the people of the state to decide who their next governor will be and not to focus attention on mundane things,” the statement added.