By Owen Eresoyen, Benin
Barrister Olumide Akpata, the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP) in Edo State Gubernatorial election scheduled for September 21, has chosen a fellow lawyer, Prince Kadiri Yussuf Asamah (SAN) as his running mate.
Asamah was nominated to replace Mrs Alufokhai Oluyinka Faith from Owan axis of Edo north who was temporarily named as the running mate to meet the INEC deadline.
Prince Asamah is from the Auchi royal family and holds the distinguished record of being the first member of the royal family to be honoured with the prestigious SAN title.
The electoral law allows for the replacement of any political party candidate during the placement period.
Prince Asamah, who hails from Auchi, has been chosen as the deputy governorship candidate of his party.
The Edo LP leaders and their gubernatorial candidate may have re-evaluated their political strategy and decided to make some minor adjustments to change the political landscape, while also giving the party a solid footing in the Edo North district, where the APC holds significant influence.
One of the adjustments may involve nominating a running mate from the Auchi .Auchi is also the political hub of the Edo North district and has the potential to generate the highest number of votes in any electoral contest.
Since the arrival of Senator Adams Oshiomole, who was previously the governor of the state, Auchi has become a strong political base for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This means that the opposition parties, such as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), will need to put in more effort to break the dominance of the APC.
It remains to be seen how Bar. Asamah plans to fit into the political landscape and influence votes in favour of the LP in the coming weeks.
The nomination of Bar. Asamah as the LP running mate to Bar. Akpata has caused a mix of excitement and concern within the Auchi political circles.
While some are excited, hoping his nomination would serve as a breath of fresh air and also infuse a reasonable degree of credibility into the political process.
The critics, however, contend that he has been largely apolitical until now and may not change the tide in the political arena.
