By Charles Pemu 
Mr. Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the September 2024 governorship election in Edo State, has described the Supreme Court’s ruling on the election as a painful blow to justice and democracy.
In a personally signed statement released Thursday and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ighodalo said he accepted the judgment’s finality, but not its fairness.
“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,” he said.
Ighodalo expressed disappointment in the judicial system, saying he felt a “deep sense of betrayal,” not only by those who allegedly manipulated the electoral process but also by the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy.
“You came out in hope. You voted for competence, for progress, for prosperity. And now, we are told your voice does not matter,” he told his supporters.
Despite the outcome, Ighodalo praised the unity and courage shown by Edo people throughout the election process. “We may not have won the office, but we won something greater, we found one another. We discovered our collective strength,” he noted.
He vowed to continue the struggle for a better Edo State, warning that the weight of what he called an “illegitimate mandate” would eventually be felt in the quality of governance.
“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,” he concluded.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was affirmed as the winner of the election by the Supreme Court earlier on Thursday.