Edo 2024: I have absolute confidence in the judiciary, says Ighodalo
By Kingsley Ohens
Five days after filing his petition at the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal, Dr Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 21 election, has declared that he has absolute confidence in the ability of the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.
Ighodalo stated this while appearing on an ITV Benin Radio Talk Show program in Pidgin English, ‘Man Around Town’ on Wednesday morning. He insisted that notwithstanding the notion or perception of many people, as a lawyer of 40 years, his faith in the judiciary to remedy every wrong remains unshaken. He pointed to the litany of cases that followed his nomination as the candidate of the PDP, saying “I won all the 15 cases that were brought against me from the primary. And so I cannot say I don’t have faith in the judiciary. I certainly do. It remains the last hope of the common man.”
Ighodalo narrated how the supporters of the PDP were subjected to untold harassment and intimidation through phantom allegations leading to their unwarranted arrest before and even during the election. He condemned the brazen collusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state with the Nigeria Police Force and some compromised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to manipulate and distort the results of the election that was manifestly in his favour and that of the PDP.
Ighodalo contended that the APC chieftains, working hands in gloves with some compromised INEC staff and rogue Police men, subverted the will of the people. He labeled them as enemies of democracy in Nigeria. He however vowed to use every lawful and legitimate means to retrieve and reclaim the mandate from those who shamelessly stole it.
Narrating his experience during the material inspection period, he condemned the INEC show of undue sympathy to the APC when the PDP had a legitimate Court Order to be allowed to inspect materials needed to aid the filing of his petition.
He again, accused the INEC, Police and the APC of working together to frustrate the efforts of the PDP and himself to file the petition knowing very well that it was time bound.
Ighodalo specifically singled out the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and the Commission’s Legal Officer who engaged in sundry time wasting gimmicks and all forms of obstructions.
Speaking about the reports by Election Observers, Ighodalo said they all reported that the election was brazenly and bare-facedly compromised by the combined collusion of APC, INEC and an obviously partisan Police Force. He declared that for him, the evidence that he won the election was incontrovertible, saying Nigeria cannot continue like this, where people who have nothing to offer and do not mean well for Nigerians can just force themselves on the people because they control INEC and the Police and have thugs willing to do their bidding.
Ighodalo dismissed the insinuations that the PDP lost the election because of infighting within the party, saying the argument was an afterthought by APC apologists to justify the electoral heist that took place on September 21 in Edo State. “We won the election outright,” he stated.
Narrating his campaign efforts, Ighodalo said he met the people, engaged them and presented his manifesto to them and they accepted the same and came out to vote massively for him.
When asked if he would accept the verdict of the court if it goes contrary to his expectations, he said if at the end, the Supreme Court in the land feels otherwise, he would abide by it but stressed that from the evidence he has gathered and the experience of the members of his legal team, he was sure to win the case now in court.
He also debunked the claim in some quarters that he had congratulated the declared winner. He asked hilariously if it was customary for a man whose property had been stolen by a thief to congratulate the thief.
“Do you congratulate a thief who has come to your house and stolen your goods? It is all propaganda. Did you not hear or read that I was getting ready to run for Senate? They are the worst form of propagandists in this country. Some of them even talk before thinking.”
On a final note, Ighodalo warned that if the kind of electoral heist just witnessed in Edo continues in the country and not reversed, democracy will be imperiled. He then thanked the people of Edo for standing by him and urged them not to allow themselves to be provoked by the antics of those who do not mean well for them.
