Abuja – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election of Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected Governor of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, the appellate court upheld the earlier decision of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had thrown out Ighodalo’s petition on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
The PDP and Ighodalo had approached the appellate court seeking to overturn the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s declaration of Okpebholo as winner of the September 21, 2024 governorship election. INEC had declared Okpebholo winner with 291,667 votes, ahead of Ighodalo’s 247,274.
In their arguments, the appellants cited alleged irregularities, including the improper collation of results and inconsistencies in INEC documents such as Form EC25B. They also presented 133 BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) machines as evidence of alleged over-voting.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the PDP failed to prove that the alleged infractions had any substantial effect on the outcome of the election. It also held that the BVAS evidence was not sufficiently demonstrated in court and could not be relied upon to nullify the result.
The court’s decision puts to rest the legal tussle at the appellate level, affirming Okpebholo’s victory as valid and lawful.
As of press time, the PDP had yet to issue a formal response or indicate whether it would proceed to the Supreme Court.
