Supreme Court Upholds Okpebholo’s Victory as Edo Gov, Dismisses PDP’s Appeal

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The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, dismissing an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo, challenging the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship poll.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, ruled that the appeal lacked merit.

The court upheld the earlier decisions of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had both validated Okpebholo’s victory under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Garba stated that the PDP and Ighodalo failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral irregularities, including over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

The court also criticized the PDP for not calling key witnesses to support their documentary evidence, particularly regarding the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) reports, which were merely “dumped” before the tribunal without proper demonstration.

“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” Justice Garba declared.

Ighodalo had sought to overturn the Court of Appeal’s May 29 judgment, arguing that the election was marred by widespread violations and that he had won the majority of valid votes.

However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Okpebholo, and the APC urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal—a position the court upheld after reserving judgment on July 2.

The Edo State Election Tribunal had earlier dismissed petitions from the PDP, the Action Alliance (AA), and the Accord Party (AP), citing insufficient evidence to invalidate INEC’s declaration. INEC had announced Okpebholo as the winner with 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo trailed with 247,655 votes.

The PDP had alleged irregularities in 765 polling units, including result manipulation and improper use of BVAS machines, but the tribunal and appellate courts found their evidence inadequate.

With this final ruling, the legal battle over the Edo governorship election has ended, cementing Monday Okpebholo’s position as the duly elected governor of the state.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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