Asue Ighodalo: I’ll Reclaim My Mandate, Claims PDP Didn’t Engage in Vote Buying

·Blame your internal failures not INEC for your loss, Nwagwu tells political parties

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the recently concluded Edo governorship poll, has expressed confidence that he would reclaim his mandate at the tribunal.

Ighodalo said this as Peering Advocacy and Advancement Center in Africa (PAACA) urged political parties to address their internal failures rather than blaming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for their loss in the recently concluded Edo governorship election. 

Speaking on Politics Today, a programme in one of the national television stations, Ighodalo said his party did not partake in vote buying during the election.

Ighodalo explained that his legal team identified over 160 polling units where the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was not deployed.

“There is a lot of data, information, evidence that we have. We are fully confident that going through the tribunal, we will win the case,” he said.

“We will regain our mandate and we are clear without any doubt that we were the winners of the election last Saturday.

“We didn’t rig. When APC and INEC saw that APC was losing woefully, they then subverted the electoral laws and the guidelines.

“Collation is done at the polling units, and then you go to the ward, and then the local government collation centre, and then the state. There was a jump, from ward straight to the state.

“There was a collusion between the INEC and the police to suppress the will of the people of Edo State. People of Edo State purposely voted for us. We won the election clearly.

“It is painful because you have many young people who felt that they were disenfranchised in the past; they feel that their votes were not counted and they asked what kind of democracy we run.

“I had been trying to encourage them to make sure your votes count but we have serious collusion by INEC and the APC working towards votes not counting.

“But this time around we will go through the judicial process and the vote will count. We are quite clear that with the evidence we have, we will show clearly that we won the election. And the mandate of the people will be upheld.”

Ighodalo said the PDP frowned at the vote buying that became the story of the election.

“I can state categorically, we were not involved in vote buying at all. APC agents came with minted notes straight from the CBN and they were offering N25,000, N30,000 and N50,000 per vote,” he added.

“What our guys did was to go to them and harass them and tell them that you can’t come here to buy votes. But we were not engaged in vote buying in any way. I’m clear about that.

“We didn’t even need to go and buy votes. The people of Edo State were solidly with us. It’s only when you’re not sure of your capabilities… when you cannot perform, that’s when you do underhand things.

“And APC, through this election, with the connivance, complicity and support of INEC, undermined the whole democratic process.”

Ighodalo added that accepting Monday Okpebholo’s offer of friendship is off the table.

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

“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.”

Meanwhile, PAACA has urged political parties to  address their internal failures rather than blaming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for their loss in the recently concluded Edo governorship election. 

 Its Convener, Ezenwa Nwagwu, who is also a board member of YIAGA Africa said the tendency to “undermine and discredit our institutions just because a politician loses must stop.”

 Nwagwu in a statement issued yesterday, stated there was a need to  build citizens’ confidence in country’s institutions, adding that democracy should not be altered to suit the whims and caprices of politicians.

 He explained, “One of the key aspects of voters’ education is helping citizens understand the true factors behind electoral outcomes rather than allowing them to be swayed by baseless accusations by those with unpretentious partisan interests. 

“When politicians lose, their immediate reaction is often to cast blame on the electoral body rather than addressing internal failures within their campaigns or parties. 

“This cycle of deflection and misinformation undermines public trust in the process and hinders the growth of our democracy.”

Nwangwu, said one of the significant issues that has surfaced is the transactional nature of party agents deployed during elections. 

According to him, “As election observers, what we have seen in many instances is that these agents are not committed members of the party, but rather, they are temporary hires, primarily driven by monetary gains rather than loyalty or ideological commitment.”

He stated further, “Politicians have evolved a disturbing strategy: buying party agents. This often results in party agents colluding with opponents, selling out their candidate in exchange for personal gains at polling units

“This is a structural problem within the  political parties, not an issue created by INEC. It is crucial for parties to take responsibility for the loyalty and integrity of the agents they deploy during elections.”

Nwangwu argued that Nigeria has moved past some of the more overt forms of election malpractice, such as ballot snatching and multiple voting.  

He emphasised that the electoral body has made significant improvements in Nigeria’s election process and has helped return power to the voters. 

Nwangwu noted that the era of widespread ballot snatching, voter intimidation, and the use of multiple Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) has largely been addressed through reforms and innovation introduced by INEC. 

He said, “For example, technological advancements like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) have reduced the chances of rigging and fraud, ensuring that only eligible voters can participate and that results reflect the true will of the people. 

“We have gone past the era, where people hide in a room and manufacture numbers or where one man with hundreds of voter cards can vote multiple times. Therefore, placing blame on INEC diverts attention from the actual reasons for election defeats.”