The 2024 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, has condemned the Supreme Court judgement which affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of the Niger Delta State.
On Thursday, a five-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal held that the appellants could not establish their claims of election non-compliance, unlawful votes, and that Monday Okpebholo was not duly elected. The appeal was dismissed for lacking merit.
Shortly after the ruling, Ighodalo said he felt a deep sense of betrayal by the decision of the apex court, arguing that what played out on September 22, 2024, was a ‘deliberate and coordinated robbery.’
He alleged, without providing evidence to back up his claim, that the governorship election was rigged in favour of the APC candidate and incumbent governor.
“Like you, I feel a deep sense of betrayal. Not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy. You came out in hope. You voted for competence, for progress, for prosperity. And now we are told your voice does not matter … I feel your pain, I share your anger. And I will never forget your courage,” he stated.
“We are neither a fearful nor broken people. We may be wounded. But all wounds heal. So let this be our vow. We will not retreat. We will not be silenced. And we will not forget.”
Ighodalo stressed that while he accepted the finality of the Supreme Court judgment, “I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to Justice.”
The full statement reads:
FINAL STATEMENT ON THE SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT IN THE EDO GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION PETITION
My dear people of Edo State,
Today, the Supreme Court has ruled.
Though I accept the finality of its judgment, I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice.
What happened in the September 2024 Governorship Election was not a contest. It was a robbery. Coordinated. Deliberate. And now, tragically validated by the highest court in the land. While I will not and can not obstruct any judicial pronouncement, no matter how flawed, I must never fear to speak truth to power.
Like you, I feel a deep sense of betrayal. Not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy. You came out in hope. You voted for competence, for progress, for prosperity. And now, we are told that your voice does not matter. That your freely given mandate can be trampled without consequence.
I feel your pain. I share your anger. And I will never forget your courage.
To every young person who saw in this moment the birth of a new Edo. To every elder who longed to see our state rise again. To every woman and man who prayed, campaigned, and voted. We may not have won the office, but we won something greater. We found one another. We discovered our collective strength.
Though this painful chapter closes today, our beautiful story does not end. The struggle to reclaim the soul of our beloved state continues.
Yes, dark days may lie ahead. The weight of this illegitimacy will, unfortunately, echo beyond the halls of the Supreme Court. I fear Edo will feel it in the absence of leadership, in the poverty of policy, and in the daily suffering of her people.
But we are neither a fearful nor a broken people. We may be wounded. But all wounds heal.
So let this be our vow. We will not retreat. We will not be silenced. And we will never forget.
To those who now hold power undeserved, lead with humility. Govern with conscience. History sees what the courts may not. And one day, it will deliver its own verdict.
God bless you.
God bless Edo State.
And God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.Asue Ighodalo.
