Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal will today, Wednesday, decide on the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, on the conduct of last year’s gubernatorial election in the State.
The PDP and Ighodalo are challenging the declaration of
Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner
of the September 21, 2024 election by the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC.
They alleged that the election was marred by irregularities
and non compliance with the electoral laws.
The three-member tribunal, headed
by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had, on March 3, reserved judgment in the petition
after parties adopted their final written addresses.
However, confusion erupted on Tuesday as leaked copies of a
yet-to-be-read judgement of the Edo State Governorship tribunal flooded the
internet.
According to the judgement document making the rounds on the
internet, the lead judgement dismissed the petition and affirmed the election
of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
Reacting to the development, the National Publicity
Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, dismissed the purported judgment
circulating online.
In an interview with DAILY POST on Tuesday, Ologunagba
stated that it was not right to believe the alleged court judgment.
He said: “I don’t work online. You can’t stick your
integrity on someone just waking up one morning and put something online and
then you begin to run around with that; that’s not alright.”
On whether his party is optimistic about the upcoming
tribunal judgement, the PDP spokesman stated that the party would first wait
for the court to give its judgement on the matter before it will react to it.
Ologunagba added that there’s nothing optimistic about the
Nigerian judiciary.
“Let them come out with the judgment first. Then we will deal with that.
“Obviously there’s nothing optimistic about the Nigerian judiciary,” he
added.
Meanwhile, ahead of Wednesday, today’s judgment by the Tribunal, the state
Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has sent a message of hope and unity to supporters,
members of the ruling APC, and residents of the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Fred Itua, in a statement
made available to newsmen in Abuja, said that Okpebholo urged all residents of
the state to maintain peace and order.
According to the statement, the governor expressed full confidence in the
judiciary and its ability to deliver a fair and just judgment.
“The tribunal’s decision is a crucial part of our democratic process, and
we must all respect its authority.
“I want to emphasise that our state’s progress and development are
paramount. We must not allow political differences to disrupt the peace and
harmony we have worked so hard to build.
“We are people committed to democracy, peace, and progress,” the governor
said.
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