BREAKING: PDP, Ighodalo lose as Edo tribunal upholds Okpebholo's election

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the validly elected governor in the state election on September 21, 2024.

In a unanimous judgement on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, threw out the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Asuerime (Asue) Ighodalo.

The tribunal found that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and, therefore, upheld that Okpebholo secured the highest number of valid votes.

The tribunal also frowned on the manner in which the petitioners presented their evidence, stating that it did not sufficiently support their claims.

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Tribunal dismisses all petitions against Opkebholo's victory

The ruling is part of a series of three judgments delivered on Wednesday, which also included petitions from the Action Alliance (AA) and the Accord Party (AP).

The tribunal had earlier dismissed the petition filed by AA and its purported candidate, Adekunle Omoaje, requesting the reversal of Okpebholo's victory.

Similarly, it struck out AP's petition because it failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate its claims of electoral malpractice.

The tribunal noted that the PDP didn't call polling unit agents as witnesses from all the units where it had alleged irregularities took place, adding that out of the 19 witnesses presented by the party, 14 were ward and local government agents.

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The tribunal held that the party's 'start witness,' who claimed to be a Director of Strategy, played no direct role in the election, finding it inadequate to prove the allegations of malpractice.

The tribunal further ruled that the petitioners merely "dumped" the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) reports on the court without proper analysis or corroboration.