Idahosa disagrees with Cardinal Onaiyekan over 2023 elections

Hon. Charles Idahosa, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, has expressed disagreement with Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, about his statement that the 2023 elections will be the worst in Nigeria’s history. Cardinal Onaiyekan made this statement.

According to reports from a few days ago, Onaiyekan had stated that there have been earlier instances of botched elections, but that the defects in the most recent elections were unsurpassed.

But in response to Onaiyekan’s statement from yesterday, Idahosa stated that the elections in 2023 remained one of the best in the country due to the kind of upsets that it produced as well as the new coloration that it brought to the National Assembly, which saw at least eight political parties win seats in both chambers of the legislature.

He stated that the opposition parties were likely going to lose their election petitions and that Cardinal’s claim was purposefully sponsored by the opposition in advance of the Presidential Election Tribunal’s decision on the election. Specifically, he pointed the finger at the Labour Party as being the opposition party that was responsible for sponsoring Cardinal’s claim.

“It is quite sad for a man who holds such a position in Christendom, whose voice a lot of people will take very seriously, to talk like that. It is something that a lot of people will take very seriously. For Christians, this situation is extremely embarrassing.

“Tinubu has taken the oath of office as president, and the court has begun its session. Consider the context in which Onaiyekan made his statement: at a time when we are awaiting the decision of the court. They must have done some research to find a remark of this nature at such a crucial juncture. I have spent over 40 years working in politics, and I can state with certainty that only those of us who took part in this election can determine whether or not it was a fair contest.

“What he said is quite stunning because he knows nothing about the elections, and this is one of the best elections in this country ever. This is one of the best elections in this country ever.” I am not a member of the APC; rather, I am a chieftain in the PDP; and you are aware of the struggles that we had. In the event that Tinubu lost the election for governor of Lagos, there is a good chance that someone will publicly question whether or not Tinubu will rig elections in his own place. An election in which Buhari lost Katsina, 10 sitting governors lost their seats in the senate, which means their states were divided into three and they were unable to win, and somebody comes along and says this is the worst election ever would be considered by some to be the worst election ever.

“The moment the Cardinal put his hat into the ring, he is now like any of us; he has taken sides, and he should not have spoken at all,” she said. “The Cardinal should not have spoken at all.” According to Idahosa, “this is an election in which eight different political parties are represented in the National Assembly.”