The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Thursday, affirmed Monday Okpebholo as duly elected governor in the September 21, 2024, governorship election held in Edo State.

The court, in a judgement by a three-member panel led by Justice M. A. Danjuma, dismissed an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, to challenge the election outcome.

The appellate court held that it found no reason to dislodge the May 15 judgement of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which validated the declaration of Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the poll.

However, Ighodalo has vowed to appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court.

Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member panel had dismissed the petitions by the PDP and its candidate; the Action Alliance (AA) and its National Chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje; as well as a case brought before it by the Accord Party (AP) and its candidate, Dr. Bright Enabulele.

The tribunal described the petitions as “lacking in merit.”

The tribunal held that it found no reason to nullify the outcome of the governorship election declared in favour of the APC and its candidate, Okpebholo.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared that Mr Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291, 667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247, 655 votes.

Dissatisfied with the result, the petitioners approached the tribunal, alleging that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

In the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, PDP and its candidate alleged that governor Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes that were cast at the election.

It was equally the contention of the petitioners that INEC failed to serialise and pre-record some of the sensitive materials deployed for the poll, a situation they said aided the rigging of the election in favour of the APC and its candidate.

Specifically, PDP and its candidate alleged that there was wrong computation of results in 765 polling units in the state, even as they produced 19 witnesses that testified and tendered exhibits before the tribunal.

(NAN)