Moment tribunal upheld Monday Okpebholo’s victory in Edo guber poll

The Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal has confirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected Governor of the state in the 21st of September 2024 election.

On Wednesday, a three-member panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, ruling that they had failed to substantiate their claims of electoral misconduct.

The tribunal’s judgment emphasised that Ighodalo and the PDP did not provide “competent witnesses” to support the allegations made in their petition, which included claims of irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022.

In the original election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner after he secured 291,667 votes.

This was a clear victory over Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, placed a distant third with 22,763 votes.

Despite the official declaration of Okpebholo’s victory, Ighodalo and the PDP contested the result, seeking to nullify the election on the grounds that it was marred by irregularities, including alleged breaches of the Electoral Act.

The petitioners argued that the election was invalid and should be overturned due to these claimed violations. [CONTINUE READING HERE]>>>>>