The Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja will on Wednesday (today) deliver its judgement in the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mr Asue Ighodalo, challenging the outcome of a governorship poll held on September 21, 2024 while Governor Monday Okpebholo of All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared as winner of the contest.
Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led’s three-member tribunal communicated the judgement date to the parties in the early hours of Tuesday.
The panel had on March 3, reserved its verdict after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
PDP and Ighodalo are challenging the declaration of Governor Okpebholo of the APC as the winner of the governorship contest.
It is instructive to note that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ighodalo of the PDP, who received 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, alleging that it was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, the petitioners alleged that Governor Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes cast in the election.
The petitioners further alleged that INEC failed to serialise and pre-record some of the sensitive materials deployed for the poll, a situation they said aided the rigging of the election in favour of the APC and its candidate.
Adopting their final written address, the petitioners, through their team of lawyers led by Mr Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), alleged that there was wrong computation of results in 765 polling units in the state.
According to the petitioners, results from the polling units were manipulated at the collation centres.
The petitioners said, “We concede that elections took place at the polling units, but my lords, for instance, how 25 votes metamorphosed to 525 votes at a particular collation centre, is what we are quarreling with.”
Insisting that they adduced sufficient evidence needed to prove their case, the petitioners urged the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return issued to Governor Okpebholo and declare Ighodalo as the bonafide winner of the governorship contest.
But the respondents in the matter, INEC, Governor Okpebholo and APC, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition for being unmeritorious.
According to the respondents, the petitioners failed to, by way of credible evidence, establish their claim that they won the election.
INEC’s lead lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), noted that the petitioners’ reliefs were incongruous with the case they brought before the tribunal.
He further argued that whereas the petitioners claimed that the governorship election was invalid by reason of alleged non-compliance, they still sought to be declared winner of the same poll.
Adopting his written address, lawyer to Governor Okpebholo, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), argued that the petition was an academic exercise.
The Senior Advocate further argued that the Supreme Court had earlier held that one could not prove over-voting without the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
Lawyer to the APC, Mr Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) also argued that the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law.
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