KEY POINTS
- The PDP candidate, Ighodalo alleges that the election was rigged in the Edo State governorship electionk and his mandate stolen.
- The APC flag bearer Senator Monday Okpebholo clear the poll with 291, 667 votes out of the total votes polled.
- Ighodalo said the actual election was a betrayal of the people’s decisions; she encouraged people to remain persistent.
Asue Ighodalo, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the just-concluded Edo State governorship election, claims that those who do not have the welfare of Edo State at heart rigged his victory.
INEC also declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of APC as winner of the election where Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo, who got 247,274 votes. It was third place for Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata who polled 22,763 votes.
Gratitude to Edo people
On Monday, Ighodalo issued a statement condemning the electoral result, raising concerns about the credibility of the exercise, and emphasizing that the opposition stole his mandate.
“First of all, in everything, it is necessary to thank God,” he said, also thanking those voters who voted for him and the people of Edo state who voted for their candidate despite lots of pressures, including threats and bribes.
He also appreciated the support he received from people who voted for him and the citizens of Edo State who he says are “heroes of our democracy.”
He pointed to the support he got during the election campaign and referred to himself as a candidate not as a power seeker but as somebody interested in helping people.
“We managed the campaign together and as you can see by the ballot results, you gave me your massive support,” Ighodalo said.
However, he displayed a lot of anger on what he regards as a blatant theft of his victory, claiming that his rivals cheated him of his victory on polling day.
He described the election as inconclusive and vowed to fight for a better Edo State and tagged the result as a “shameful subversion of the will of the PDP.”
A call for perseverance
“The victory of evil over good is phenomenal but merely window dressing.”Ighodalo said this while encouraging his team before his loss.
They urged the people of Edo State to stay hopeful insisting that the sacrifices and hard work towards ensuring change in Edo State has not gone unnoticed.
According to Vanguard, These remarks come at a time when the state is intensively preparing for probable lawsuits and continued discussion and analyze of the election outcomes by the representatives of the PDP, the party’s candidate, the supporters, as well as the general public.
