Upon graduation from Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Ighodalo worked as an associate in the law firm of Chris Ogunbanjo & Co. between 1985 and 1991. Ighodalo's core areas of practice include corporate finance, capital markets, energy and natural resources, mergers and acquisitions, banking, securitization and project finance. He resigned from all corporate positions he held to aspire to become the governor of Edo State. However, a Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja nullified election on the ground that 378 delegates who were to vote during primary election were unlawfully denied their rights to vote. His candidacy was eventually upheld by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which confirmed Ighodalo as the legitimately nominated governorship candidate of the PDP in Edo State and dismissed the lawsuit challenging his nomination. He lost the election to the
APC candidate,
Monday Okpebholo, and challenged the election results in court on the basis of non-compliance with the Electoral Act. On April 2, 2025, the
tribunal delivered a unanimous judgment dismissing the petition on the grounds that Ighodalo failed to provide sufficient evidence of electoral malpractice or non-compliance with the Electoral Act. Ighodalo subsequently rejected the verdict, describing it as a "travesty of justice," and appealed to the
Supreme Court, which affirmed Okpebholo's election in July 2025. ==Publications and works==