Less than 24 hours after Barrister Olumide Akpata emerged as the candidate of the Julius Abure-led national leadership of the Labour Party for the September 21 Edo State governorship election, the Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led faction has also unveiled its candidate for the election.

Recall that Wuzup Nigeria reported that Akpata was declared the party’s candidate in a governorship primary by the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, on Friday in Benin City.

The immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association was declared the candidate with 316 votes, defeating other aspirants.

However, the Apapa-led faction of the party submitted the names of its candidate and deputy governorship candidate respectively in a letter dated February 22, 2024, addressed to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Abuja.

The letter, seen on several social media platforms including the WhatsApp group of the Labour Party in Edo State, was signed by Alhaji Lamidi Apapa as the Acting National Chairman and Alhaji Saleh Lawan as the Acting National Secretary.

He identified the governorship candidate as Barrister Anderson Uwadiae Asemota, with Barrister Monday Ojore Mawah as his running mate.

Apapa stated that the governorship candidate and his running mate emerged from a primary conducted on February 22, 2024, in Benin City.

When contacted on the phone, Apapa confirmed the letter.

He simply said, “Yes, it is true. The letter is from us.”