By OSAGIE IMASOGIE

As we countdown to the forthcoming Edo Elections, one thing has become clear to all and sundry that Asue Ighodalo is the man to beat. His carriage, his elocution, his firm grasp of issues and willingness to continue to engage with the electorate have endeared him to the vast majority of Edo people both locally and in the Diaspora

Faced with this stark reality, the opposition APC and their grossly unpopular candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, a.k.a Akpakomiza, have resorted to underhand tactics in a desperate bid to stem the rising popularity of Dr. Ighodalo

Their first plot was to launch the unsavoury news last week that the Edo State primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party that produced Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the candidate for the September 21st 2024 Governorship Elections had been nullified.

A shabbily dressed lawyer and poorly spoken man who was later identified as Adaze Emwanta was seen briefing the media and the public that the Court had invalidated the candidacy of Asue Ighodalo, the PDP governorship candidate and that as such, the PDP had no candidate in the forthcoming September elections.

However, when the certified true copy (CTC) of the Full Judgement was made public, it turned out that contrary to Emwanta's misleading claims, no judgement nullifying the primaries and orders were made by the Federal High court.

The case had nothing to do with Dr. Asue Ighodalo or the validity of his primaries which he won freely and fairly with over 577 valid votes. Prominent news platforms like Vanguard have since retracted their story and apologised accordingly.

Given the clear provisions of S. 84(14) of the Electoral Act, only an aspirant who took part in a primaries can challenge the outcome in court. The Plaintiffs in the case under reference were clearly not aspirants hence the court never granted them any such imaginary court orders.

What we witnessed last week was a failed plot by the APC to steal Dr. Asue Ighodalo's ticket through media propaganda and criminal misrepresentation of facts. That is why videos of celebration and macabre dance by Philip Shaibu and his new found cohorts in APC immediately surfaced after the fake news broke. It is clear that what transpired was a typical "hand of Esau, voice of Jacob" scenario. They are highly embittered and will become more desperate in days to come after this failed attempt.

Not to be undone, the hawks met again few days ago at Akpakomiza's house in Irrua and resolved to sponsor more frivolous court stories and fake propaganda against Asue Ighodalo in order to distract the public as there was nothing else to campaign with to convince Edo people to vote APC – a party that has inflicted untold hardship on hapless masses across Nigeria

They have nothing to campaign with so Edo people should remain alert and brace up for more fake news about an imaginary Asue disqualification in the next few weeks. It is the only talking point and last card for their Party which is battling internal crisis and public rejection over their choice of a Guber Candidate, Akpomiza, who is grossly inept, unapologetically mediocre and irredeemably unmarketable.

•Imasogie writes from Benin City.