The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has criticized the Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, performance at the just concluded Edo State governorship election, calling him a comedian.

He expressed concerns about Akpata’s failure to win his own polling unit. Basiru noted that Akpata arrived to cast his ballot with arrogance, as a man was seen holding the umbrella for him during a downpour.

Akpata lost his polling unit, Unit 11, Ward 06 in Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City, to Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 41 votes, while Akpata scored 32 votes. Monday Okpebholo, the APC candidate, garnered 19 votes.

At the end of the election, Monday Okpebholo was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday, September 22.

Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating the PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes, and the Labour Party candidate, who finished third with 22,763 votes.

The APC won in 10 states of the 18 Local Government Areas, while the PDP emerged victorious in the remaining 8.

In response, Senator Ajibola noted that although Akpata was said to have won an online poll, he was defeated in real time on Saturday, September 21.

According to the Senator, Monday Okpebholo won the election because his campaign reached the grassroot.

He said, “I never knew that my learned friend, Olumide Akpata, is a comedian. When I heard that comment, I thought maybe being a successful lawyer is not mutually exclusive from being a successful comedian, maybe he should even try his hands on comedy.

Even in his own polling unit, he lost. Was he sleeping? And even when he arrived at the polling unit, he came with an air of arrogance. Someone was holding his umbrella as he approached.

He wasn’t even showing he was part of the people. But when you see our candidate, he stood in the crowd, on the queue with the people. He thinks because he can blow grammar on the internet, then that will fetch you vote.

There is a difference between winning an election on social media and conducting an election in real time.

Yes, we agree when it comes to social media. He claimed that he got 79% online poll, but what I know is that the voters of our party who are in Usilu market, Ugbowo, Uwasota, Kenwa junction, Akoko Edo, Orwan East, oriowon are not part of that shenanigans they call online polling. We put our campaign to the grassroot, campaign for real men.”