Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State, Dr Asue Ighodalo, has described the election as “a deliberate, coordinated robbery.” He added that it has now been ” tragically validated by the highest court in the land.”
This was contained in a statement he personally signed on Thursday and addressed to the people of Edo State, as his reaction to the Supreme Court judgment on his appeal challenging the declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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.”
Ighodalo said, “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.”
In a deeply philosophical submission, Ighodalo urged the people to remain resolute in their quest for a better state.
“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.”
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.
