The Court of Appeal in Abuja has postponed judgment in the appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, against the confirmation of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s victory in the 2024 Edo State governorship election.
The court also heard a cross-appeal by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Okpebholo’s party, and said its ruling will be delivered at a later date to be communicated to all parties involved.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo winner of the election held on September 21, 2024. According to INEC, Okpebholo and the APC secured 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo and the PDP received 247,655 votes.
Unhappy with the result, Ighodalo and his party approached the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal, claiming that the process was marred by several irregularities. They named INEC, Okpebholo, and the APC as respondents.
The PDP’s petition accused the electoral body of poor conduct, including the failure to serialise ballot papers and properly record sensitive materials, which they claim allowed vote manipulation.
Other issues raised included alleged over-voting, errors in vote counting, and mismatched results across 765 polling units. Ighodalo and the PDP argued that Okpebholo did not win a majority of the lawful votes cast and asked the tribunal to void the result.
However, on April 2, 2025, the tribunal dismissed the petition. It ruled that the petitioners could not prove their claims and that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the law.
Still dissatisfied, Ighodalo and the PDP took their case to the Court of Appeal. At Thursday’s hearing, Ighodalo’s lead counsel, Robert Emukpoeruo (SAN), asked the appellate court to overturn the tribunal’s ruling..
He argued that the tribunal failed to properly consider their evidence, especially regarding missing serial numbers on Form EC25B, as required by the Electoral Act.
He also disagreed with the tribunal’s view that the petitioners simply “dumped” documents on the court, stating that their argument was based on inconsistencies between polling unit results and final tallies.
Responding, Okpebholo’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), supported the tribunal’s ruling. He said the serial numbers in question were actually found on Form EC40A, not EC25B, and that the PDP failed to present the key Form EC25D during trial.
APC counsel, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), also stood by the tribunal’s judgment. He noted that the petitioners only brought 19 witnesses, with just five being polling unit agents. Ukala said this fell short of what is required under the Electoral Act, which demands that witnesses be presented for each of the contested polling units.
Ukala further noted that while Form EC25D was mentioned in the petition, it was never submitted during the trial—weakening the PDP’s argument.
INEC’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), also supported the tribunal’s verdict and urged the court to dismiss the appeals.
