Frontline politician and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2024 Edo State governorship election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, has called out Sen. Monday Okpebholo over his ?reckless? allegation on TVC News? "Journalist Hangout" in which he claimed that ?they are mopping up money to go and bribe tribunal people.? Ighodalo asserted that the thoughtless claim was not only false but a dangerous attempt to blackmail the judiciary.

In a statement signed by Erhabor Emokpae in Benin City on Wednesday, Ighodalo described Okpebholo's televised comments alleging efforts to bribe members of the Edo State Election Tribunal as "deeply irresponsible and representing a desperate and calculated ploy to intimidate the judiciary, poison public discourse, and undermine confidence in a legal process that he suspects may not favour him."

He further said: "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. By making such a reckless claim, Okpebholo seeks to pre-emptively discredit any judgment that does not go his way. It is the classic tactic of a sore loser?crying wolf when in reality there is none. The reality is simply that he did not win the people?s mandate.

"It is deeply troubling that a respondent in an ongoing case would seek to so undermine the integrity of the judicial panel with such baseless accusations. This is a brazen and irresponsible attack intended to intimidate the members of the Election Petition Tribunal and erode public trust in our legal institutions.

"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.

Senator Okpebholo must be aware that, as a respondent in an ongoing legal dispute, his uninformed comments on the merits of our case and his predictions about the Tribunal?s judgment are deeply sub judice. 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.

"This attempt to pressure the tribunal through public defamation must be condemned by all. It is dangerous, it is reckless, and it is beneath the dignity of anyone who claims to be a leader. "Okpebholo should be reminded that democracy is not about forcing a narrative but about respecting the will of the people and the rule of law. The tribunal should take due note of his remarks?not because they carry any merit, but because they expose a desperate ploy to undermine a legitimate 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. This is typical of politicians who, when faced with defeat, resort to fabrications of lies and fear-mongering. The tribunal will do its work based on facts and the law, not on the baseless cries of those who refuse to accept reality," Ighodalo emphasised.

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