Breaking: PDP Igbhodalo announces next step after losing to Edo gov Okpebholo at Tribunal
- PDP candidate in the 2024 Edo state governorship election, Asue Ighodalo, has vowed to challenge the outcome of the poll at the Court of Appeal
- Ighodalo and the PDP disclosed, while reacting to the outcome of the Tribunal’s judgment, where they lost the challenges because of a lack of evidence
- The tribunal had subsequently declared the APC and Governor Monday Okpebholo as the authentic winners of the poll
Benin, Edo – Asue Ighodalo, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2024 governorship election in Edo state, has announced the plan to head to the Court of Appeal to further challenge the outcome of the poll.
The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal upheld the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The tribunal’s unanimous decision, delivered by Chairman Justice Wilfred Kpochi, found no merit in the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, Ighodalo, challenging Okpebholo’s victory.
Asue Ighodalo has said that he will go to the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment of the tribunal in court
Photo Credit: @Aighodalo, @m_akpakomizaSource: Twitter
The petitioners had alleged that the election was not conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2022, and that Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes. They also claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to properly serialize and record sensitive materials, leading to rigging in favor of the APC. The petitioners presented 19 witnesses and tendered exhibits, including 153 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVA) machines used in 133 polling units.
However, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to provide credible evidence to support their claims. The onus of proving that Okpebholo’s victory was undue rested with the petitioners, and the tribunal ruled that they did not succeed on the strength of their own case. The panel emphasized that a petitioner must succeed based on their own evidence, rather than relying on the weaknesses of the defense.
The tribunal’s decision comes after INEC declared Okpebholo the winner of the governorship election, with 291,667 votes to Ighodalo’s 247,655. The PDP and its candidate had approached the tribunal, seeking to nullify the election result.
The tribunal’s ruling has effectively upheld Okpebholo’s victory, bringing an end to the dispute over the Edo State governorship election. The tribunal also dismissed other political party’s appeal against the governor and the ruling APC.
Aside from the PDP and its candidate, Ighodalo, other political parties that the tribunal threw out their cases against the governor and the APC are Action Alliance (AA) and the Accord Party (AP).
Source: TheTalk.NG
