Ighodalo’s False Victory Claims Mirror The Crying of Lot 49
By Osehobo Ofure Victor .
The Edo State governorship election held on September 21, 2024, has come and gone and Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the Governor-elect, after he was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Despite this clear outcome, it is becoming funny that the loser, Mr Asue Akintunde Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued to hallucinate about winning the election.
Like someone who has run out of ways and means to express his frustration the man appeared on a local radio show this week and attempted to confuse some listeners with a conspiracy theory about how he won the Governorship elections.
Ighodalo’s ongoing and very ridiculous claim of securing an outright victory is not backed by the election results, the conduct of the polls, or independent observations. It reminds me of the paranoia and conspiracy theories that drive **Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49**. Mr Ighodalo’s very dangerous narrative is being built on a foundation of distortion, and victimhood rather than on tangible evidence.
The Edo 2024 election results were transparently counted and publicly announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the only legal authority in Nigeria that is charged with conducting elections and declaring winners. In this election INEC declared Okpebholo the winner based on the majority of lawful votes cast across Edo State’s 18 local government areas. Both local and international observers monitored the process, and none of these credible sources reported the widespread manipulation or collusion alleged by Ighodalo. INEC’s mandate to declare a winner is constitutionally protected, and Okpebholo’s victory was based on clear, verified polling unit counts that were made public during the collation process.
Ighodalo’s spurious claims of election rigging lacks the concrete evidence needed to overturn the results. So far, neither his failed party, nor himself has spoken of substantial proof to support their vague argument that the election was manipulated in favor of the APC or that he, in fact, won. His insistence on having won is a failed political strategy to maintain relevance among his godfather's dwindling supporters. Without hard evidence, his accusations are imaginary and childish.
Even his socalled narrative of a rigged election, alleging collusion between the APC, the police, and INEC officials, mirrors the plot of *Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49**. In the novel, the protagonist, Oedipa Maas, becomes entangled in a labyrinth of conspiracy theories, unsure of what is real and what is imagined. Similarly, Ighodalo’s accusations are rooted more in suspicion and perception than in verifiable facts. He asserts that his supporters were intimidated, harassed, and subjected to phantom charges, all part of a grand scheme to undermine his campaign. However, much like Oedipa’s struggles to distinguish reality from paranoia, Ighodalo’s claims appear to be more imagined than real, lacking the concrete evidence necessary to substantiate them.
Ighodalo says he believes that the election tribunal will overturn what he sees as a flawed electoral process. He points to his previous legal victories during the PDP primaries as proof of his confidence in the courts. The lawyer appears to have forgotten so soon that the same judiciary, while playing a crucial role in upholding democratic processes, relies on facts, not speculation. It is up to him and his failed PDP to present this evidence to the tribunal for thorough investigation. As things stand, his claim of victory appears to be more of a political maneuver than a reflection of the truth.
In the face of Ighodalo’s refusal to accept the election results, he even dismissed internal divisions within the PDP as a contributing factor to his clear loss. He insists that the reported infighting and disunity in the party had no bearing on the outcome. Yet PDP analysts have pointed out that the PDP’s factional disputes, including his imposition when he was not a member of the party and even a registered voter coupled with leadership struggles and disagreements, weakened his campaign in Edo State.
On its part, the APC ran a well-coordinated and focused campaign, with the Governor-elect, Senator Okpebholo connecting with voters, particularly in areas where landmarks of the outgoing PDP government failures loomed large. Okpebholo’s ability to resonate with the electorate, coupled with strong support from party leaders and local stakeholders, was crucial to his victory.
As in The Crying of Lot 49, where readers are left to ponder whether the conspiracy is real or a product of the protagonist’s imagination, Mr Asue Akintunde Ighodalo’s claims of victory in the Edo 2024 election is a failed political construct. His claims are rooted in unfounded paranoia. The people of Edo State are not interested in his conspiracy theories. As it stands, the election of Senator Monday Okpebholo is the legitimate will of Edo people as declared by INEC. The earlier Mr Ighodalo gets used to this, the better for him and his failed PDP.
