Ighodalo Reveals Next Plan As Appeal Court Affirms Okpebholo As Edo Gov

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo State governorship election, Asue Ighodalo, has vowed to continue his legal battle after the Court of Appeal upheld the victory of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 21, 2024, election.

Despite the setback, Ighodalo is determined to take his case to the Supreme Court for further adjudication.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice M.A. Danjuma, dismissed the appeal filed by Ighodalo and his party, the PDP, challenging the outcome of the Edo State governorship election.

The court upheld the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had validated Okpebholo’s victory, confirming that the appeal lacked merit.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the tribunal’s earlier findings, which dismissed claims made by Ighodalo and the PDP that the election had been marred by irregularities, including the alleged manipulation of results in 765 polling units.

The tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had ruled that Ighodalo and the PDP failed to provide credible evidence to support their claims of electoral malpractice.

Despite presenting numerous exhibits, including testimonies from 19 witnesses and the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, the tribunal found that the petitioners did not meet the legal threshold required to nullify the election results.

The tribunal also noted that key witnesses, such as polling unit agents, presiding officers, or voters, were not presented to substantiate the allegations. Additionally, the failure to demonstrate that the BVAS machines were switched on to validate the results from disputed polling units contributed to the tribunal’s decision.

In his ruling, Justice Danjuma confirmed that Okpebholo, the APC candidate, had won the election with a total of 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo of the PDP, who secured 247,655 votes.

The court emphasised that the PDP and Ighodalo had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that the election had been rigged or that the results were flawed.

Despite the ruling, Ighodalo expressed his dissatisfaction with the judgment and vowed to continue pursuing justice. He announced that he would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, maintaining that the election process had been compromised.