The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected Governor of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, a five-member panel led by Justice Lawal Garba held that the PDP failed to prove claims of over-voting, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
“The appellant failed to provide admissible evidence to back allegations of malpractice,” the court ruled, echoing findings from the Court of Appeal and Election Petition Tribunal, which also dismissed the petition as lacking merit.
The Supreme Court stressed that Ighodalo’s challenge targeted just 395 out of 4,519 polling units, and that 19 witnesses called by PDP did not provide convincing testimony.
The Tribunal earlier faulted the PDP’s evidence, saying:
“Documents do not speak for themselves… Petitioners failed to link evidence to polling units or demonstrate how over-voting occurred using BVAS.”
Despite bringing 154 BVAS machines as evidence, the machines were not demonstrated, and most testimonies were ruled hearsay.
Final Tally (INEC):
Okpebholo (APC): 291,667 votes
Ighodalo (PDP): 247,655 votes
With this decision, the Supreme Court closed the curtain on legal challenges surrounding the 2024 Edo Governorship election. lyniefree camwhore
