Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Edo State governorship election, has declared his plan to contest the election results in court, alleging that his mandate was “stolen.”
During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ighodalo expressed his dissatisfaction with the conduct of the election and criticized both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the election, Ighodalo finished second with 247,274 votes, while the APC’s candidate, Monday Okpebholo, was declared the winner with 291,667 votes. The Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata secured 22,763 votes.
Ighodalo raised several concerns, including the non-use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in over 160 polling units and improper collation of results from the ward to state levels. He also accused INEC, the police, and the APC of working together to undermine the will of the people.
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He further alleged that, unlike the APC, his party did not engage in vote-buying. According to Ighodalo, the APC offered cash incentives to voters, ranging from N25,000 to N50,000. He stated that the PDP chose to confront APC agents involved in vote-buying instead of participating in such practices.
Ighodalo announced that he will be taking the matter to the election tribunal, where he hopes to present evidence that will prove the PDP was the legitimate winner of the election.
When asked about Monday Okpebholo’s offer of friendship, Ighodalo firmly rejected it. He stated that it would be impossible to accept any friendship or cooperation while the election results remain in dispute.
“Since the mandate was stolen, there is no way I can accept these offers of friendship,” he said. “I will stand by the people of Edo State, who freely gave me their support, and I will go to court to reclaim our mandate and form the government.”
