In an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today FROM 11:14,” Segun Sowunmi, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, spoke extensively about the party’s recent challenges in Edo State and praised the calibre of their candidate, Asue Ighodalo. Sowunmi asserted that Ighodalo’s qualifications and leadership potential make him a contender not just for state politics, but for higher offices, including the presidency.
“With due respect to anybody who has commented on Edo, there’s nowhere in the world you’ll take the personality of Asue Ighodalo, our candidate, his CV, and how he organizes himself, and say this is your presidential material,” Sowunmi declared, adding, “Even in America, they’d consider that good material.”
Sowunmi lauded Ighodalo’s leadership qualities and personal achievements, positioning him as a capable leader with the vision and skill to drive meaningful change. His comments highlight the esteem in which Ighodalo is held, not just within the PDP but potentially on a global stage.
Turning to Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, Sowunmi described him as a formidable politician. “If you look at Obaseki, Obaseki is a very tough cookie,” he remarked, acknowledging Obaseki’s resilience and influence in the state.
Sowunmi also reflected on the recent Governorship election in Edo, in which the PDP alleged electoral malpractice. “If Obaseki, Asue Ighodalo, everything considered, with all of the suffering in the country, were still able to go to an election and we’re sort of screaming that we were rigged,” he said, expressing frustration over the results. He emphasized that the rigging occurred in areas traditionally controlled by PDP veterans, known for their influence in the state. “Those numbers where the rigging took place, they took place from places where our own long-standing territorial commanders—the Dan Orbihs of this world—would ordinarily mitigate those numbers.”