THE Supreme Court has affirmed the victory of Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo in the governorship election conducted in the state on September 21, 2024.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Mohammed Garba, on Thursday, July 10, dismissed as lacking in merit an appeal by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo.
Ighodalo has sought to nullify the outcome of the election, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Okpebholo the winner.
Garba, in his ruling, said the appellants failed to prove that Oklebholo did not secure lawful votes in the election and did not properly establish that the decision of the tribunal and the court of appeal was perverse.
The court ruled that it was absurd for the PDP and Ighodalo to seek nullification or be declared winners, given that they didn’t challenge the results in all polling units.
“The appeal is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit and the judgment affirms the decision of the Tribunal and Court of Appeal,” the apex court ruled.
Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja had earlier affirmed Okpebholo as the state governor.
A three-member panel of the court, led by Mohamed Danjuma, on May 29 unanimously ruled in Okpebholo’s favour, affirming the decision of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which earlier validated the governor’s victory.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the PDP and its governorship candidate, Ighodalo, to affirm Okpebholo’s victory.
Allegations of overvoting, malpractices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act were tabled before the appellate court by Igbhodalo against the outcome of the disputed election.
Okpebholo was declared the election winner on September 22, 2024.
The INEC Returning Officer for the poll, Faruk Kuta, made the declaration at the State Collation Centre in Benin City.
Kuta, a professor and vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, said Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ighodalo, who scored 247,274 votes.
The candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumude Akpata, came a distant third with 22,763 votes.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance