By: Bayero Ade
The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja has dismissed the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) petition challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo after the party chose to abandon the case.
According to Nation, During Tuesday’s hearing, SDP’s legal representative, Jackson Ehiavhie, informed the tribunal that his client had decided to discontinue the petition. He stated that the withdrawal was based on directives from the party’s national leadership.
Legal representatives for the respondents—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress (APC)—did not oppose the withdrawal.
Following the development, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, who leads the three-member tribunal, ruled that the case be dismissed, citing the petitioner’s decision to withdraw from the legal challenge.
The SDP was among six political parties that approached the tribunal, seeking to nullify INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
According to INEC’s official results, the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes, defeating 17 other contestants, including his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 247,274 votes.
Other political parties that have challenged the election results include the PDP, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Accord Party (AP), and Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).
Leave a Reply