The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has reaffirmed Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected Governor of Edo State, dismissing petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Alliance (AA), and Accord Party (AP).
The tribunal delivered its verdict in a series of three judgments on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
The tribunal criticized the PDP for failing to present credible evidence to support allegations of over-voting and electoral irregularities.
The party did not call polling unit agents as witnesses from all the units where it had alleged irregularities took place.
Out of the 19 witnesses presented by the PDP, 14 were ward and local government agents, but the party’s “star witness” played no direct role in the conduct of the election.
The tribunal also ruled that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) reports tendered by the petitioners were insufficient to alter the outcome of the election. The reports were merely “dumped” on the court without proper analysis or corroboration.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo the winner of the governorship election with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest opponent, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, who garnered 247,655 votes.
The tribunal’s decision comes after it dismissed petitions filed by the AA and the Accord Party, challenging Okpebholo’s victory. The AA’s petition was struck out for lacking merit and being frivolous, while the Accord Party failed to substantiate its allegations of electoral malpractice.
In its final ruling, the tribunal concluded that there was no substantial evidence warranting the annulment of the election results. It reaffirmed Okpebholo’s victory, stating that the election was conducted in compliance with the law and properly declared by INEC.
