As political parties commence campaigns ahead of the forthcoming September 21 governorship election in Edo State, the African Action Congress, AAC, candidate, Dr Oberaifo Udoh has unveiled a former Labour Party gubernatorial aspirant, Sir Lord Osunde, as his running mate.
DAILY POST reports that the party also received scores of defectors from the Labour Party, Obidient Movement as well as family members of the party’s running mate.
The state party chairman, Gabriel Erhahon, who officially presented the flag to the deputy governorship candidate and the defectors, commended them for having the courage to dump their former party to join the AAC.
He explained that AAC, unlike other political parties, believe in taking the state to greater heights, and empowerment of women and youths.
Earlier, Osunde, the deputy governorship candidate of the party, who spoke for the defectors, noted that they left the Labour Party and the Obidient Movement to pitch tent with AAC because of its human oriented manifesto.
Osunde, who added that he was a pioneer Edo Obidient Movement leader, who organized the first ‘two million Obidient movement walk’ in the state, noted that he was encouraged to join the AAC because it has a better ideology.
He also disclosed that the LP did not follow due process during its governorship primary election.
“While we were in Labour Party, the party preaches freedom, corrupt free society, youth empowerment and merit in all ramifications but along the line, no governorship primary election was really held by the party. If there was it was not democratic.
“Due process was not followed during the primary election, and after that, they don’t even care about your feelings. For the aggrieved ones, nobody did anything to address their concerns.
“I was one of the aspirants for the governorship position but because it was already clear that the process have been hijacked to favour a particular aspirant, I decided not to pick expression of interest and nomination forms
“I see AAC and noticed that it has the same and better ideology than Labour Party. I have been following up ever since. That is why I joined. I left LP and refused to go ahead with the competition to vie for its governorship ticket,” he said.
In his remarks, Dr Udoh Oberaifo, the AAC governorship candidate, noted that the party was an alternative to rescue Edo State and its people from the political, social and economic quagmire it has found itself.
Udoh, who opined that Edo State had experienced the era of PDP and APC without tangible results, noted that the poverty rate occasioned by bad economic policies, decayed infrastructure and insecurity in the state which the APC and PDP have not been able to address was the reason why the people are yearning for an alternative political platform.