The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday affirmed the election victory of Edo State governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, following the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.
A three-man panel of the court, presided over by Justice Mohamed Danjuma, upheld the governor’s election while dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
Justice Danjuma said that both PDP and Ighodalo failed to establish miscarriage of justice in the judgment of the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the petition of the two appellants.
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The court of appeal judgment is a unanimous decision of the 3-man panel of Justices of the court.
Recall that the PDP and Ighodalo had sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the governor, and others for declaring Sen. Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the poll, alleging that the election was marred by irregularities.
Senator Monday Okpebholo and Dennis Idahosa were sworn in as governor and deputy governor of Edo State on November 12, 2024.
INEC had, in September 2024, declared Monday Okpebholo the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
The INEC Returning Officer for the election, Faruk Kuta, announced that Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, who garnered 247,274 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and its candidate approached the Tribunal for redress, insisting that the governor did not win with the majority of lawful votes cast.
The PDP and its candidate urged the tribunal to nullify INEC’s declaration of the APC and Okpebholo as winners, citing alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, particularly regarding vote counting.
The petitioners subpoenaed INEC to produce the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used in 133 polling units where election results were disputed.
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