Edo guber: Tribunal to deliver judgement today

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja will deliver judgment today in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo in the September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election.

The PDP and Ighodalo contest the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner, alleging irregularities marred the election.

Headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the three-member tribunal reserved judgment on March 3, after parties adopted their final written addresses. The tribunal will deliver judgment in the three petitions marked: EPT/ED/GOV/01/2024, EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, and EPT/ED/GOV/03/2024.

Earlier on January 31, the tribunal admitted 148 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System Machines (BVAS) as evidence. These electronic devices were presented by Anthony Itodo, a Senior Technical Officer in INEC’s ICT Department, and accepted by the panel.

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The petitioners had subpoenaed INEC to produce BVAS machines used in 133 polling units where election results are disputed.

INEC declared Okpebholo of the APC winner with 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,655 votes. Dissatisfied, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, seeking to annul INEC’s declaration.

The petitioners argued that the election was invalid due to alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022. In response, the APC and Okpebholo urged the tribunal to dismiss the petitions, labeling them baseless and lacking substantiation of allegations.