Edo: Tribunal Upholds Okpebholo’s Election, Dismisses Accord Party’s Petition

Tribunal upholds Governor Okpebholo’s election, dismisses Accord Party’s petition.
Petitioners failed to provide credible evidence to back electoral malpractice claims.
Tribunal’s next ruling will be on the PDP’s challenge to the election outcome.

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has upheld the election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing a petition filed by the Accord Party (AP) and its governorship candidate.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that delivering its unanimous judgment on Wednesday, the three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi ruled that the petition lacked merit, stating that the petitioners failed to provide substantial evidence to justify nullifying the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

The tribunal rejected the Accord Party’s request for a fresh election, emphasizing that the petitioners failed to meet the legal burden of proof. It noted that their allegations of electoral malpractices, including vote rigging, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, and corrupt practices, were vague and lacked specific details such as affected polling units or wards.

“These claims are general and unsubstantiated,” the panel ruled, adding that no credible evidence was presented to support the allegations. The tribunal also upheld all preliminary objections challenging the competence of the petition.

Governor Okpebholo was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after securing 291,667 votes, defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who polled 247,655 votes. The Accord Party’s candidate finished far behind with just 252 votes.

Despite its poor performance, the Accord Party contested the results, alleging multiple thumbprinting, voter intimidation, and failure to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in several polling units. However, the tribunal ruled that the claims were not backed by verifiable evidence.

The ruling comes after the tribunal also dismissed a similar petition by the Action Alliance (AA), which sought to annul Okpebholo’s election. Tribunal Upholds Okpebholo’s Election

With both petitions thrown out, attention now shifts to the tribunal’s anticipated judgment on the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who are still challenging the election outcome and seeking to be declared winners.