Akpata blasts rumours of APC defection

Former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has dismissed reports linking him with a defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Akpata, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and immediate past president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), described the speculation as the handiwork of political detractors bent on misleading the public.

In a statement yesterday, he said: “In the past 24 hours, a mischievous and utterly false rumour has been concocted and amplified by mischief-makers, alleging that I have abandoned the Labour Party—the very platform on which I contested the 2024 Edo governorship election—to join the APC. This is not only false but laughable. For the avoidance of doubt, I have never contemplated, discussed, or effected a defection to the APC, and I have no intention of ever joining the party.”

Akpata’s candidacy in the September 2024 election generated wide interest, particularly among young voters, even though he eventually lost to APC’s Monday Okpebholo.

His rebuttal comes amid heightened political manoeuvres in Edo as parties and politicians position themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.