The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed surprise over the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld the election of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the governor of the state.
Speaking on Wednesday, a PDP representative noted that while the party was not completely shocked by the verdict, the outcome was still unexpected. The party has now decided to review the judgment carefully before determining its next course of action.
“We are not shocked by the result but we are surprised by the decision of the Tribunal,” the party official stated. “The party will meet maybe tomorrow and then take a decision.”
The tribunal’s decision comes after PDP had challenged Okpebholo’s victory, arguing that the election was not conducted fairly. The party believes that the evidence it presented should have been enough to overturn the results.
The PDP representative pointed out that the Electoral Act allows the presentation of a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the unit result as evidence, without requiring additional witnesses.
“The tribunal has spoken, but there are one or two higher steps that we can take because the Electoral Act is very clear that if you present a CTC copy of the unit result, you don’t even need a witness to speak to it, and all these we did,” he noted.
Despite the ruling, PDP remains firm in its stance that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Okpebholo are in possession of what it calls a “stolen mandate.” The party has vowed to continue its legal battle in an attempt to reclaim what it believes is its rightful victory.
“The APC and Sen. Monday Okpebholo know that they are sitting on the stolen mandate which would be recovered,” the PDP official said.
