ABUJA — The Supreme Court, on Thursday, affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asuerinme Ighodalo, as lacking in merit.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor in the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial election.
Justice Garba, delivering the lead judgment, stated that the appellant, Ighodalo, failed to present credible and admissible evidence to prove his claims that the election was fraught with irregularities, including allegations of over-voting and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court further held that Ighodalo did not call relevant witnesses to corroborate the evidence he tendered, particularly regarding the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
It noted that several documents submitted by the PDP candidate were merely “dumped” on the tribunal without proper linkage to alleged irregularities in specific polling units.
“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” the Supreme Court ruled, stressing that the alleged non-compliance cited by Ighodalo affected only 432 out of 4,519 polling units in the state — an insufficient number to alter the outcome of the election.
With this decision, the apex court has brought an end to the legal battle over the Edo State governorship election, solidifying Monday Okpebholo’s mandate as the governor of the state.
