Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - The Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has dismissed a case filed by the Action Alliance, AA, to nullify the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
The three-member panel held that the petition, which AA
filed alongside its National Chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, lacked merit. The
tribunal held that the petition touched on pre-election issues which it lacked
the requisite jurisdiction to entertain.
The petitioners had among other things, alleged that the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, excluded its lawful candidate
in the governorship election that held on September 21, 2024. They alleged that
contrary to various court judgements, the electoral body accepted and recognized
a candidate that was not validly nominated by the party.
According to the petitioners, INEC’s failure to publish the
name of the rightful candidate of the party for the gubernatorial contest
amounted to a substantial non-compliance to provisions of section 134(1) (b) of
the Electoral Act.
More so, aside from their contention that Governor Okpebholo
of the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not secure the majority of lawful
votes cast during the election, the petitioners insisted that the exercise was
marred by corrupt practices.
Consequently, they prayed for the nullification of the
election, a request the panel refused on Wednesday.
The panel upheld all the preliminary objections that were
lodged against the petition.
All the Respondents, including INEC and Governor Okpebholo,
had challenged the competence of the petition, stressing that the National
Chairman of the AA was bereft of the locus standi to institute the action since
he did not participate in the governorship poll.
They equally maintained that the petition was statute-barred
as it contained pre-election matters that were beyond the jurisdiction of the
tribunal.
It will be recalled that AA’s candidate, Mr. Tom Iseghhi-Okojie, stepped
down for governor Okpebholo, a few days before the governorship election.
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