The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is set to deliver its judgment on Wednesday regarding the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo. The petition challenges the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship election in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election. He secured 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo of the PDP finished second with 247,655 votes. However, the PDP and its candidate argue that the election was not conducted fairly, alleging irregularities in the voting process.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had reserved its judgment on March 3 after all parties presented their final written arguments. The panel will rule on three different petitions, identified as EPT/ED/GOV/01/2024, EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, and EPT/ED/GOV/03/2024.
During the proceedings, the tribunal admitted 148 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines as evidence. These machines, which were used in the election, were presented by Anthony Itodo, a Senior Technical Officer in INEC’s ICT Department. The PDP and Ighodalo had requested INEC to provide the BVAS devices from 133 polling units where the results were disputed.
The petitioners claim that the election should be declared invalid due to alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022. They are asking the tribunal to annul INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner and to either declare a new winner or order a fresh election.
On the other hand, the APC and Okpebholo have asked the tribunal to dismiss the petitions. They argue that the PDP and Ighodalo have not provided enough evidence to support their claims of election malpractice.
