The Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected Governor of Edo State.
A three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
In the lead judgment, Justice Kpochi ruled that the petitioners failed to present competent witnesses to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice and non-compliance with the Electoral Act. The tribunal emphasized that proving non-compliance requires credible witnesses, including polling unit officers, presiding officers, or voters, none of whom testified in the case.
The 19 witnesses presented by the PDP were dismissed as giving mere hearsay evidence. The tribunal also faulted the PDP’s reliance on Section 137 of the Electoral Act, stating that it was not the duty of the tribunal to scrutinize documents tendered without supporting evidence.
Regarding allegations of overvoting, the panel ruled that voters’ registers, BVAS machines, and polling unit results (Forms EC8A) must be tendered as evidence, which the petitioners failed to do. It also noted that the BVAS machines submitted remained inactive, as the tribunal was not responsible for retrieving their data.
Consequently, the tribunal dismissed Asue Ighodalo’s petition for lack of merit.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the election with 291,667 votes, defeating Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, who polled 247,655 votes.
The PDP had challenged the election results in 765 out of 4,519 polling units, citing alleged irregularities, overvoting, improper computation of votes, and non-serialization of electoral materials. However, the tribunal’s ruling upholds Okpebholo’s victory as the duly elected governor.
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