Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has attributed his party’s inability to replicate its success in the 2023 general elections to poverty and the influence of money in politics. In an interview with Arise News FROM 10:20, Akpata highlighted how widespread vote-buying and short-term thinking among voters hampered his campaign, despite initial enthusiasm from the electorate.
Akpata noted that while many voters were eager for change, the reality of day-to-day financial struggles led some to prioritize immediate monetary gains over long-term political reforms. He lamented the deeply monetized nature of Nigerian politics, which made it difficult for the Labour Party to compete with the larger financial resources of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It’s quite obvious to me that because poverty has been weaponized and politics is so monetized in Nigeria, that’s why we were unable, it would appear, to convince the people to repeat the feat of 2023,” Akpata said, referring to the success of Labour Party in the previous election cycle. He acknowledged that many voters are fixated on “bread and butter issues,” making them susceptible to short-term financial inducements during elections.
In his words;
“It’s quite obvious to me that because poverty has been weaponized and politics is so monetized in Nigeria, that’s why we were unable, it would appear, we were unable to convince the people, to repeat the feat of 2023, what happened in 2023, they are more fixated on their own day to day bread and butter issues, so the struggles continues. We’re going to let the people understand that we must think long term, it’s a long haul, it’s not sprint, it’s a marathon”….Sêe _ Morê