The Edo State chapter of the Labour Party, on Friday, cleared controversies over the true ownership of 20 buses donated to the party by a governorship aspirant and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata.

The aspirant’s Olumide Akpata Campaign Organisation also claimed that the recently donated buses were for the party as against a statement that has gone viral in some sections of the media, which described the donation of the vehicles as a “Greek gift.”

The PUNCH reports that a “Greek gift” refers to a present or gesture that initially appears generous or beneficial but ultimately brings harm, trouble, or consequences to the recipient.

Akpata was accused of registering the vehicles in his name, and one of his promoters threatened to retrieve the vehicles if he (Akpata) did not get the governorship ticket of the party.

The statement alleged that “Akpata registered the vehicles in the name of a company called Zopaz Advisory Service, with a Lagos address, where he allegedly has an interest, instead of in the name of the Labour Party, Edo State.”

The statement also alleged that “he presented photocopies of the proof of ownership, held on to the original copies, and urged Akpata to follow the example of the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, who did not use his popularity to hijack the party but used it to push the party to a new status.”

But the state chairman of LP, Kelly Ogbaloi, when contacted, said, “Those vehicles were donated to the party by Akpata, and that is clear enough, and at that point of donation, they become the property of the party, notwithstanding those registrations that they are talking about.

“Yes, he may have purchased vehicles in his name initially, but now he has officially and legally transferred the ownership of those vehicles to LP as of today.”

In a Friday statement by the Director General of OACO, Toju David, the allegation was described as “poorly conceived and incoherent commentary issued by a faceless hack.”

He insisted that the allegations were false and disconnected from reality.

He said, “These rabble-rousers need not dig too deep to establish that Olumide Akpata has transferred title to all 21 vehicles purchased and donated to the Labour Party in Edo State.

“All 21 vehicles now legally belong to the Labour Party, Edo State, and not Olumide Akpata.

“Therefore, the ludicrous suggestion that Olumide Akpata will take back any of the donated vehicles if he fails to win the party’s nomination as its gubernatorial candidate amounts to nothing other than cheap and idle blackmail.

“Indeed, it is infantile and malicious to draw any conclusions regarding ownership of the vehicles by merely relying on documents procured at the point of purchase and, indeed, registration of the said vehicles. We urge any party member interested in determining the true ownership of the aforementioned vehicles to simply verify the same with the state secretariat.

“We reiterate that Olumide Akpata’s contributions towards building the party are by no means easy, yet they are necessary to bolster the party and position us for near- and long-term success.

“He made huge contributions to the campaigns of the majority of our candidates at the September 2023 local government elections; and donated a brand-new Toyota Hiace Bus to the state secretariat for party operations.

“He made a significant pledge towards the purchase of a new and befitting state secretariat; and visited all 18 local government secretariats, where he made further substantial contributions to the said secretariat and all 192 party wards.”

He urged other aspirants to join hands with Akpata to build the party rather than try to pull him down.