The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has upheld the victory of Senator Monday Okpebholo, affirming him as the duly elected governor of the state.
In three separate judgments, the tribunal dismissed petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Alliance (AA), and Accord Party, ruling that the petitioners failed to provide substantial evidence to support their claims of electoral irregularities.
The tribunal particularly criticized the PDP for failing to call polling unit agents as witnesses to substantiate its claims of overvoting. It noted that while the PDP alleged widespread electoral malpractice, it only presented 19 witnesses, of which 14 were ward and local government agents. The party’s star witness, who identified as a director of strategy, was found to have played no direct role in the conduct of the election.
Additionally, the tribunal faulted the PDP for “dumping” Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) reports on the tribunal without properly linking them to specific irregularities. The court maintained that documents alone, without proper witness testimonies, could not prove allegations of electoral fraud.
More details to follow…
