Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stated on Monday that the party’s motivation to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, stemmed from a provocative comment made by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Obaseki described the election as a “do-or-die” affair, expressing concern that the people of Edo would be doomed if the APC regained control of the state. Ganduje explained that this remark galvanized APC supporters to vote overwhelmingly for their candidate, Monday Okpebholo.
Addressing journalists at the APC secretariat in Abuja, Ganduje said, “Even before the election, one side was already overheating the polity. He (Obaseki) said it was a ‘do-or-die’ election. But we said ‘No’; ours would be ‘do-and-succeed.’ Because if you die, who will introduce your successor? So, we are here to thank all stakeholders.”
Read also: PDP rejects Edo election results, plans legal challenge
He noted that Obaseki was once part of the APC before defecting to the PDP, taking the mandate with him. “This exercise (Edo governorship election) was challenging because we faced several obstacles. We had a governor (Obaseki) who used to be one of us. We are children of the same father but with different mothers, competing against each other,” Ganduje added.
He emphasized the importance of using the election results to strengthen the APC, saying, “From what transpired, we will use the results, voting patterns, successes, and failures in different units to strengthen the APC institution, which is driven by knowledge.”
Ganduje expressed gratitude to security agencies for maintaining law and order during the election and thanked APC governors for their solidarity with the governor-elect. Okpebholo was declared the winner of the Edo governorship election, securing 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,274 and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party, who received 22,763 votes.
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