Despite another legal blow, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2024 Edo governorship election, Asue Ighodalo, has vowed to press on with his legal challenge, announcing plans to approach the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor.
On Thursday, the appellate court dismissed the appeals filed by Ighodalo and the PDP, describing them as lacking merit and affirming the decision of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had earlier upheld Okpebholo’s victory.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice M.A. Danjuma stated that the tribunal’s ruling—delivered on April 2 and reaffirmed on May 15—was sound and that the appellants failed to prove any substantial error or miscarriage of justice.
Ighodalo had earlier challenged the declaration of Okpebholo by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which announced the APC candidate as the winner with 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,655. The petitioners, including the PDP and its candidate, alleged widespread irregularities and violations of the Electoral Act 2022.
In their petition (EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024), the PDP claimed that Okpebholo was wrongly returned as the winner and cited issues like non-serialization of sensitive election materials, manipulation of results in 765 polling units, and allegations of over-voting. They tendered 153 BVAS machines and called 19 witnesses to support their case.
However, the tribunal ruled that the petitioners merely presented documents without demonstrating them through credible witnesses. It emphasized that key figures like polling unit agents or presiding officers were not called to testify, and many of the witnesses who did appear gave hearsay evidence.
The tribunal also dismissed arguments that INEC failed to comply with electoral laws, stating that there was no credible evidence of vote inflation or manipulation of results. It noted that none of the BVAS machines were powered on in court to verify claims of over-voting.
The appeal court, concurring with the tribunal, held that the burden of proof lay with the petitioners and was not discharged.
Undeterred by the two legal defeats, Ighodalo insists the fight is not over. Speaking after the judgment, he confirmed his intention to seek redress at the Supreme Court, expressing faith that justice would ultimately prevail.