Ighodalo slams Okpebholo’s “reckless” tribunal claims

Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2024 Edo State governorship election, has strongly rebuked Senator Monday Okpebholo over his recent allegations on TVC News’ Journalist Hangout. Okpebholo, the governor of Edo State, had claimed that Ighodalo and his team “are mopping up money to go and bribe tribunal people,” a statement Ighodalo described as not only false but a dangerous attempt to blackmail the judiciary.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Erhabor Emokpae in Benin City, Ighodalo condemned Okpebholo’s comments as “deeply irresponsible” and a calculated effort to intimidate the judiciary, poison public discourse, and undermine confidence in the legal process.

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“Let it be stated unequivocally: there is absolutely no truth to Okpebholo’s insinuation. It is a blatant lie, and he knows it. The members of the tribunal, more than anyone else, also know that no such attempt has been made, would be made, nor could it ever succeed,” Ighodalo stated.

He accused Okpebholo of employing the “classic tactic of a sore loser” by pre-emptively discrediting any judgment that does not favour him. “The reality is simply that he did not win the people’s mandate,” Ighodalo added.

Ighodalo expressed deep concern over Okpebholo’s attempt to undermine the integrity of the judicial panel, describing it as a “brazen and irresponsible attack” intended to erode public trust in Nigeria’s legal institutions.

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“It is telling that Okpebholo, without a shred of evidence for his wild accusations, glibly relies on innuendo and divine invocation to justify his electoral delusions. His statement is riddled with contradictions: on the one hand, he claims to trust the judiciary and believes they will do the right thing; on the other hand, he attempts to smear them with baseless allegations of bribery. Which is it? Either he respects the judiciary or he does not,” Ighodalo remarked.

He further criticised Okpebholo for commenting on matters before the tribunal despite failing to attend a single sitting. “Having failed to attend a single sitting of the Tribunal, he nonetheless went on national television to discuss matters he neither understands nor has the acumen to comment on,” Ighodalo said.

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Ighodalo called on the public to condemn Okpebholo’s actions, describing them as “dangerous, reckless, and beneath the dignity of anyone who claims to be a leader.” He urged the tribunal to take note of Okpebholo’s remarks, not for their merit but as evidence of a desperate ploy to undermine the judicial process.

“Edo State deserves better. Nigeria deserves better. The judiciary must not allow itself to be dragged into the mud by those who neither understand nor respect the rule of law because they think, somehow, that they are above it,” Ighodalo emphasised.

He concluded by reaffirming his confidence in the tribunal’s ability to deliver justice based on facts and the law, rather than the “baseless cries of those who refuse to accept reality.”