Edo 2024: Ighodalo vows to reclaim ‘stolen mandate,’ rejects Okpebholo’s friendship offer

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Edo governorship election, Asue Ighodalo, has announced his intention to challenge the election results in court, claiming that his mandate was “stolen.”

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ighodalo expressed his dissatisfaction with the electoral process and the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ighodalo finished second in the election with 247,274 votes, while the APC’s Monday Okpebholo was declared the winner with 291,667 votes. The Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata, secured 22,763 votes

Ighodalo cited several issues, including the failure to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in over 160 polling units, the skipping of proper collation procedures from ward to state level, and alleged collusion between INEC, the police, and the APC to suppress the will of Edo voters

He stated that his party refrained from engaging in vote-buying, unlike the APC, which he accused of offering cash incentives to voters ranging from N25,000 to N50,000.

Ighodalo stated that his party chose to harass APC agents engaged in vote-buying rather than partake in such practices.

Regarding his next steps, Ighodalo declared his intention to take the matter to the tribunal, where he believes the evidence will prove that the PDP was the rightful winner of the election.

He dismissed Okpebholo’s offer of friendship, stating that accepting such overtures would be impossible while the mandate remains contested.

“Because the mandate is stolen, there is no way you can accept these hands of fellowship or friendship.

“I will stay with the people of Edo state, who fully gave me the mandate of their free will, and I will go into the courts and the tribunal to reclaim our mandate and then form the government,” he said.