Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the ongoing Edo governorship election, has boasted that his rival from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo, will not secure a single vote in his home polling unit.
Speaking after casting his ballot at Unit 03, Ward 1, Uwessan in Esan Central Local Government Area, Okpebholo said the strong support from his community would leave no room for the opposition.
Okpebholo said, “PDP or whatever will not get one vote here because this is my home and my people love me.”
He also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its handling of the election process, stating, “What I’m seeing here is like a testimony that INEC is getting it right.”
Commenting on the security arrangements for the election, Okpebholo said: “I know that everything they are saying about security – this, that – is ‘hyping’. I mean nothing is happening. You can see! Nobody is fighting. No knockout, no stick of matches. So it’s just for people to scare people away from voting.
“You know Obaseki wanted to cause fire in Edo state but by the grace of God everything is moving perfectly.”
On the eve of the election, the APC reaffirmed Okpebholo’s candidacy following rumours that he had been disqualified by a magistrate court.
Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, dismissed the claim as “forgery and disinformation.”
Morka stated, “In the final hours to the Edo gubernatorial election scheduled to hold Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, certain political parties have desperately resorted to forgery and disinformation on our candidate.
“The blackmail is to the extent of circulating a fake magistrate court ruling purportedly disqualifying Sen.Okpebholo, the APC gubernatorial candidate in the election. The circulated ruling is fake, a fabrication and an act of pure desperation in the face of their imminent defeat at the polls.”
He revealed that the alleged magistrate court ruling disqualifying Okpebholo was a fabrication aimed at misleading voters.
The magistrate’s court had issued a disclaimer on the purported ruling.
