Senator Monday Okpebholo, who is running for governor with the All Progressives Congress (APC), is happy about a new court decision. This court decision canceled the primary election that chose Asue Ighodalo as the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement made on Thursday, Okpebholo said the court’s decision shows that APC is the strong party for the upcoming election in Edo state on September 21.
Earlier today, the court said that the primary election, which picked Ighodalo as the PDP candidate, is not valid. The election happened on February 22, 2024. The court said it was not fair because 378 people who were supposed to vote were not allowed to.
Judge Inyang Edem Ekwo said the primary election was not fair and broke many rules. Judge Ekwo said so while giving a decision on a lawsuit started by some people who were unhappy with the primary election.
Kelvin Mohammed started this lawsuit to represent the unhappy people.
Judge Ekwo said the election did not follow the Electoral Act 2022 or the PDP rules. The election took place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, the capital of Edo State.
Okpebholo asked Ighodalo, the PDP candidate, to quit the race. He said Ighodalo was given bad advice by PDP leaders.
Okpebholo said this problem shows that the PDP will fail in the upcoming election in Edo state.
“I am glad about the court’s decision given on Thursday by a Federal High Court in Abuja. The court has saved people in Edo from four more years of pain,” he said.
Okpebholo also said that the PDP’s primary election was very bad. He pointed out that with just two months left before an important election, PDP cannot even organize itself properly.
He asked the people of Edo to support him and APC. He said that if he becomes governor, he will work hard to make Edo a better place.
He said that since Adams Oshiomhole left as governor, the people of Edo have not had anything to be happy about.
“This will change in September. People will take power back through voting. Edo has been cut off from the main government for too long.
“We can see this in how neglected the state is. We need to bring Edo back to the main government and get all the benefits we deserve. We are hopeful,” he said.
“With this court’s decision, people can see that PDP is a messy party and should not lead our state anymore. With APC, I promise you the best is yet to come.”