Abuja, May 29, 2025 — The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld 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.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Danjuma, the appellate court held that Ighodalo’s appeal lacked merit. The court affirmed the earlier decision of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had dismissed Ighodalo’s petition challenging the outcome of the September 21, 2024 governorship election.
The court ruled that the appellants failed to demonstrate any error in the judgment of the lower tribunal, which had earlier declared the election free, fair, and in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.
Reacting to the judgment, Ighodalo rejected the ruling and announced his intention to challenge the verdict at the Supreme Court.
In the election held last September, Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat PDP’s Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata, placed third with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates participated but failed to make significant impact.
Okpebholo secured victories in over 10 of the 18 local government areas, including two of the state’s three senatorial districts, while Ighodalo managed narrow wins in the remaining local councils. Following his declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Okpebholo was sworn in on November 12, 2024, succeeding outgoing PDP governor Godwin Obaseki at the Dennis Osadebey House.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Ighodalo approached the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal, seeking to nullify Okpebholo’s election. However, in April 2025, the three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi dismissed the petition for lack of merit.
In its ruling, the tribunal held that Ighodalo and other petitioners, including the Accord Party, failed to call credible witnesses to substantiate claims of non-compliance with the Electoral Act. The panel noted that the failure to call polling unit officials, presiding officers, or voters to testify significantly weakened their case.
With the Court of Appeal now affirming that decision, Ighodalo’s legal team has indicated their readiness to take the matter to the Supreme Court—the final avenue for electoral dispute resolution.
