Supreme Court Upholds Okpebholo as Edo State Governor

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected governor of Edo State in the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed the appeal filed by Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, challenging the outcome of the poll.

Garba held that the appellants failed to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice and did not demonstrate how the decisions of the lower courts were flawed.

“The appeal is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit and the judgement affirms the decision of the tribunal and court of appeal,” he ruled.

Ighodalo, through his counsel Ken Mosia, had urged the apex court to overturn Okpebholo’s victory and declare him the rightful winner, arguing that he scored the majority of lawful votes cast.

However, Kanu Agabi, counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), countered the plea, asking the court to throw out the appeal in its entirety.

INEC had declared Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, winner with 291,667 votes. Ighodalo scored 247,274 votes, while Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata polled 22,763 votes.

Earlier, both the tribunal and the court of appeal had dismissed Ighodalo’s petitions, citing a lack of credible evidence.

The tribunal noted the PDP failed to prove its case, stating that:

“No competent witnesses were called” to support the petition.

The Supreme Court judgment now puts a final seal on Okpebholo’s election, ending all legal battles over the 2024 Edo governorship poll.