?By TAIYE AGBAJE

Mr Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Candidate in the September 2024 governorship election in Edo, says he feels a deep sense of betrayal in the Supreme Court judgment delivered today.

??Ighodalo, in his reaction to the apex court verdict, on Thursday, said though he accepted the finality of the judgment, “I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice.”

?He spoke in a statement he personally signed and a copy made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

?”My dear people of Edo State, today, the Supreme Court has ruled.

?”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.

?”While I will not and can not obstruct any judicial pronouncement, no matter how flawed, I must never fear to speak truth to power,” he said.

?According to him, like you, I feel a deep sense of betrayal.

?”Not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy.

?”You came out in hope. You voted tor competence, for progress, for prosperity.

?”And now, we are told that your voice does not matter.

?”That your freely given mandate can be trampled without consequence.

?”I feel your pain. I share your anger. And I will never forget your courage.

?”To every young person who saw in this moment the birth of a new Edo.

?”To every elder who longed to see our state rise again.

?”To every woman and man who prayed, campaigned, and voted.

?”We may not have won the office, but we won something greater.

?”We found one another. We discovered our collective strength.

?”Though this painful chapter closes today, our beautiful story does not end,” he said.

??Ighodalo, however, said that he would not relent in his effort at ensuring a better Edo.

?”The struggle to reclaim the soul of our beloved state continues.

?”Yes, dark days may lie ahead. The weight of this illegitimacy will, unfortunately, echo beyond the halls of the Supreme Court.

?”I fear Edo will feel it in the absence of leadership, in the poverty of policy, and in the daily suffering of her people.

?”But we are neither a fearful nor a broken people. We may be wounded. But all wounds heal.

?”So let this be our vow. We will not retreat. We will not be silenced. And we will never forget,” he said.

?The PDP candidate, therefore, advised Gov. Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the winner of the election, to govern the state aright.

?”‘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.(NAN)