Press Statement

 I feel compelled to provide this further statement in respect of the deeply regrettable events that occurred at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Senior Staff Club on Friday, 12th April 2024, during my interactive session with some senior members of Staff of the University. While I had hoped to put this incident behind us, the situation has taken an unsettling turn that necessitates addressing it again, directly.

The facts of what transpired are sacred and no amount of obfuscation will change
them. To restate the facts:

(i) Neither I nor anyone from my team initiated or perpetrated any attacks.
(ii) Rather, we were the victims of what evidence increasingly suggests was a premeditated assault, potentially motivated by political interests.
(iii) This vicious attack was carried out by suspected hoodlums, some of
whom eyewitnesses report, were accompanying the President of the
Student Union Government (SUG).
(iv) The assault left a Lecturer seriously injured, and his life nearly taken by a brutal axe blow to the back of his head. My heart goes out to him and his family, and I once again unequivocally condemn this senseless act of violence.

As the attack unfolded, those present at the Staff Club will attest that upon realising that students may have been involved in the ugly incident, I immediately began pleading for leniency towards any such students.

As a former student myself, I understood the grave consequences such misguided actions could have on their futures. I made this same plea before the Committee investigating the said incident, hoping to protect any students who may have been involved.

However, emboldened by the apparent support of the highly-placed Edo State Government official who has been pulling the strings from behind the scenes and orchestrating mayhem, some of these students have continued an unrelenting campaign against me, fabricating accounts completely lacking in truth – all seemingly in a bid to gain perceived political advantage for their benefactor.

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. If they insist on using young people as pawns, then they should deploy their own children rather than the children of others.

I also implore all those who value integrity, justice, and the prosperous future of this nation to condemn such reprehensible tactics in the strongest terms. These self-serving individuals cannot be allowed to jeopardize the future of our youth and imperil the very fabric of our society in their quest for power at any cost. We must stand united against those who would stop at nothing to gain or hold on to power even at 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.

OLUMIDE OSAIGBOVO AKPATA
Edo State Labour Party Governorship Candidate
22 April 2024