Edo Guber: LP candidate, Akpata addresses UNIBEN senior staff club incident

By Innocent Raphael

The gubernatorial candidate for the Labour Party in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has provided further details regarding the troubling events that unfolded at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Senior Staff Club meeting on April 12, 2024.

In a statement made public on Tuesday, Akpata expressed his dismay over the incident, emphasizing that neither he nor his team instigated any attacks.

Akpata said that the assault was a premeditated act allegedly fueled by political motives, saying that hoodlums affiliated with the Student Union Government were allegedly the perpetrators.

The statement highlighted Akpata’s concern for the welfare of the students allegedly involved, urging their parents to intervene in condemning what he described as politicians exploiting young lives for political gain.

He stated, “It is due to my genuine concern for the well-being of these students and indeed for their academic progress, that I call on their parents to urgently intervene in this matter and extricate their children from the clutches of the desperate politicians exploiting them.

These politicians clearly do not have the best interests of the students at heart and are ready to jeopardise young lives for immediate political gain at the expense of the very education their parents have sacrificed to provide.

I make this impassioned plea to their parents in the light of recent publications allegedly originating from some of these students themselves. I call on those desperate politicians who are so blinded by ambition that they do not mind endangering the future of our youth to kindly cease these reckless actions immediately. The lives and destinies of these students are infinitely more precious than any fleeting political agenda.”

He further called for unity against such tactics and emphasized the importance of safeguarding the future of the youth.

“We must stand united against those who would stop at nothing to gain or hold on to power even the expense of the next generation. The path forward for a truly great society demands that we protect the potential of our young people as our most precious resource. Their well-being must remain paramount,” he added.