The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the 2024 Edo State election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, have issued a strong rejection of the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement released shortly after the apex court’s unanimous decision to dismiss the PDP’s appeal for lack of merit, Dr. Ighodalo described the September 2024 election as “a robbery—coordinated, deliberate, and now tragically validated by the highest court in the land.”
“Though I accept the finality of its judgment, I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice,” Ighodalo stated. “What happened was not a contest. It was a betrayal—not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy.”
The PDP candidate expressed deep disappointment in the judiciary, asserting that the verdict undermines the will of the Edo people and casts a shadow over Nigeria’s democratic integrity. He emphasized that the party’s legal challenge was rooted in credible evidence of electoral malpractice, which he believes was ignored by the courts.
Despite the setback, Ighodalo called on his supporters to remain resolute: “We may not have won the office, but we won something greater. We found one another. We discovered our collective strength. The struggle to reclaim the soul of our beloved state continues.”