The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo, as lacking in merit.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, July 10, 2025, a five-member panel of justices led by Justice Mohammed Garba ruled that there was no justifiable reason to overturn the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, both of which had affirmed Okpebholo’s victory in the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
The apex court held that Ighodalo failed to present credible and admissible evidence to support his allegations of widespread irregularities, including over-voting and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
Furthermore, the court faulted the PDP candidate for not calling relevant witnesses to validate the evidence he submitted, particularly regarding data from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines. It noted that some documents were merely submitted from the Bar without linking them to specific polling units or demonstrating irregularities in the alleged 432 affected units out of 4,519 total polling units across the state.
“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” Justice Garba stated in the lead judgment.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the Edo governorship election, having secured the majority of valid votes.
Ighodalo, who finished second in the polls, rejected the outcome, accusing INEC of failing to adhere to electoral guidelines and alleging over-voting in several polling units. He argued that a proper assessment of the results would show he was the rightful winner.
His petition, however, was dismissed first by the Edo Governorship Election Tribunal and later by the Court of Appeal—both judgments now upheld by the Supreme Court.
