By: Bayero Ade
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, have formally concluded their case at the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja, where they are contesting the results of the governorship election.
According to Afripost, The PDP and Ighodalo are challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Governor Monday Okpebholo, seeking to overturn the declared outcome of the election.
During Monday’s proceedings, Robert Emukpoeruo, lead counsel for the petitioners, informed the tribunal that they had presented 19 witnesses and were concluding their case.
As part of its response, INEC submitted five additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used in the election. These devices were introduced as evidence by Anthony Itodo, a senior technical officer from INEC’s ICT Department.
Although the respondents objected to the admission of the BVAS machines as evidence, the tribunal accepted them, noting that the respondents would have the opportunity to state their objections in their final submissions.
Previously, the tribunal had also admitted evidence that 148 BVAS machines were deployed in 133 polling units where the petitioners were disputing the results.
A three-member panel, chaired by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, adjourned the case until February 5, when INEC is expected to begin its defense.
Meanwhile, the Action Democratic Party (ADP) also closed its case after its Edo State chairman, Francis Obamwonyi, testified. Obamwonyi expressed surprise at claims that the party’s governorship candidate had also served as the state collation agent. He confirmed that the ADP had secured 1,119 votes in the election, which INEC declared in favor of the APC and its candidate. When asked to substantiate allegations of non-compliance with electoral laws, over-voting, and voter intimidation, Obamwonyi stated that his testimony was based on reports from the party’s polling unit agents.
The tribunal scheduled February 6 for INEC to open its defense.
Reacting to the PDP’s decision to conclude its case, Edo APC Chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, argued that the move suggested the PDP had no solid case from the outset.
He pointed out that the petitioners were challenging results from over 700 polling units but had only presented 19 witnesses, describing this as a sign that they had abandoned their case.
Tenebe expressed confidence that once the APC begins its defense, it will become evident that the party legitimately won the election.
According to INEC’s official results, Governor Okpebholo of the APC won the September 21, 2024 election with 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Ighodalo, who secured 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and its candidate filed a petition asking the tribunal to overturn the result, arguing that Okpebholo did not lawfully secure the majority of votes and that the election process did not fully comply with the Electoral Act.
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