Acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Ilia Damagun, yesterday said the September 21 gubernatorial election in Edo State would be a test for the country’s democracy, and urged Nigerians to focus on the state.
Addressing supporters at a rally in Benin City attended by the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar and several PDP governors, Damagun said; “You have to kill or arrest all of us if you have to take this state. You may have gangs but we have God. To INEC, we don’t want that midnight result announcement, it is not a threat but we will defend our votes with our blood,” promising that the party would continue to give Edo State good governance.
He later presented what he called “the flag of victory” to the governorship candidate of the party, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
Governor Godwin Obaseki described the election as an “existential threat,” saying, “This election is a do or die, if they do, we will die.”
In his speech, Ighodalo promised to take the state to the next level, saying Obaseki had built a solid foundation for the state.
He said he would be transparent and govern with integrity if elected, adding that he believed Governor Obaseki and President Bola Tinubu’s assurances that the election would be free and fair.
The party’s chairman, Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphous Wabara, warned INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, not to announce the results until he is sure.
He further charged the INEC boss to correct the wrongs of the 2023 general elections and proceed on peaceful retirement.
Also speaking, Atiku Abubakar urged Edo people to vote for the PDP, defend and protect their votes, saying the party would win the election.