The Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo as the governor.

A three-member panel headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, against the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

In its judgment, the panel ruled that the petitioners failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

‎‎In the lead judgment read by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the Tribunal said non-compliance must be proven convincingly. It noted that the failure of the petitioners to call polling unit officers, presiding officers or even voters during the election proved fatal to their petition.

The Tribunal stated that most of the 19 witnesses called by the PDP merely gave hearsay evidence during the proceedings.

‎‎Justice Kpochi faulted what he termed as the PDP’s reliance on Section 137 of the Electoral Act to dump documents on the Tribunal. The Tribunal noted that it’s not for it to scrutinise documents tendered by the petitioners.

‎‎The Edo Tribunal further said the BVAS machines tendered by the petitioners remain dormant, as it’s not the duty of the Tribunal to access the data in the machines.

‎‎In the unanimous decision, the Tribunal thereby restated that to prove overvoting as alleged by Ighodalo and the PDP, there’s a need to tender the voters register, BVAS machines and polling unit results or Forms EC8A.

Following that, the Tribunal dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo, candidate of PDP for lacking merit.

‎‎INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo who got 247,655 votes. PDP approached the Tribunal to challenge the results from 765 polling units of the 4,519 units in Edo State.

‎The PDP candidate faulted the outcome of the election on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and the failure of Monday Okphebholo to secure a majority of the lawful votes cast. Putting that in context, the PDP governorship candidate alleged improper computation of votes by INEC, non-serialisation of electoral materials and over-voting.

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has
scheduled Wednesday, April 2, 2025, to deliver its judgment on the petition filed by Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo in the September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election.

A three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, reserved judgment on March 3 after parties in the suit concluded their final arguments.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on September 22 declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo, who polled 247,274 votes, and Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata, who garnered 22,763 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, alleging widespread irregularities, including
over-voting, ballot serialisation issues, errors in collation, and miscalculations in results.

In the suit marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024,
Ighodalo presented a senior technical officer from INEC’s ICT department as a witness, who tendered 154 BVAS machines as evidence to substantiate claims of
over-voting.

Adopting his final address, Ighodalo further alleged that results from 765 polling units were manipulated at the collation centers and that errors in computation affected the final outcome.

He urged the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return issued to Okpebholo and declare him the rightful winner of the election.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has summoned President Bola Tinubu and Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, over the emergency rule declaration in the oil-rich State.

The summons follows a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Peoples Life Improvement Foundation, alongside individuals Precious Elekima and Inanna Wright Harry, challenging the legality of the emergency rule imposed on the state.

Also listed as defendants in the suit are Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, the National Assembly, Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

President Tinubu, on March 18, 2025, declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending both the executive and legislative arms of government and appointing retired naval officer Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as administrator.

In suit number FHC/PH/CS/45/2025, the plaintiffs are seeking judicial interpretation on whether the emergency declaration aligns with constitutional provisions, arguing that it is unconstitutional, null, and void.

They contend that it violates Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act) and Section 305(3)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which outlines the conditions under which a state of emergency can be declared.

The plaintiffs have urged the court to restrain the Rivers State Administrator from appointing caretaker committees for the 23 local government councils, forming a state executive council, or making financial transactions from the state treasury.

Additionally, they are seeking an order for the immediate reinstatement of the suspended executive and legislative arms of government in the state.

Meanwhile, the court has given the defendants 30 days to respond to the summons.