The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has upheld the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 21, 2024, governorship poll in Edo State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday night, the tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to substantiate their claims of over-voting in 320 polling units across the 18 local government areas where the election was conducted.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo the winner of the election, citing his majority vote count as the basis for the decision. However, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenged the results, seeking to nullify the election on grounds of non-compliance with electoral laws and allegations of over-voting.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, who chaired the three-member tribunal, held that the petitioners failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims. The tribunal observed that the alleged non-compliance with electoral laws was not proven due to the absence of key witnesses who could testify on the alleged irregularities.
To support their claims of over-voting, the PDP and Ighodalo had presented 19 witnesses, including collation agents and a research expert, while also tendering polling unit results, collation results, BVAS records, and other sensitive election materials. However, the tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to properly authenticate the documents, noting that “documents do not speak for themselves.” Justice Kpochi emphasized that it was not the duty of the tribunal to scrutinize the documents on behalf of the petitioners without supporting testimonies.
With this ruling, Governor Okpebholo’s victory in the Edo State governorship election remains intact, affirming the mandate given to him by the electorate.
