The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the second petition filed against the declaration of Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Party APC as winners of the 2024 gubernatorial poll in Edo State.
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The tribunal sitting at the National Judicial Institute NJI in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed the petition instituted by the Accord Party for so many grounds.
In the judgment, the Tribunal held that the Accord party and its governorship candidate, Dr Bright Enabulele made spurious, wild weight allegations of thuggery stuffing ballots, harassing and molesting voters but failed to name a single perpetrator.
The tribunal held that two petitioners were so inconsistent in their claims with allegations of non compliance with the Electoral Act and calling for nullification of the poll on one hand.
On the other hand, the tribunal said the same petitioners sought to be declared winners of the election they claimed to have been conducted without compliance with the Electoral Act.
In the final analysis, the tribunal held that there was no meaningful evidence for it to act upon to nullify the election of Okpebholo and APC and subsequently dismissed the petition in its entirety.
The tribunal also affirmed the election of Okpebholo for being valid, conducted in compliance with the law and properly declared as winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
With the latest judgment, Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress, APC, have won the second in the series of the peitions challenging their declaration as winners of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC won 291, 667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, who polled 247, 655 votes in the election
Details later.
