The Supreme Court upheld the victory of Edo State Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo in the September 21, 2024, off-cycle election, rejecting the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party and Asue Ighodalo against the All Progressives Congress victory. A five-member Supreme Court panel led by Mohammed Garba unanimously ruled on Thursday that the PDP and its
The Supreme Court upheld the victory of Edo State Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo in the September 21, 2024, off-cycle election, rejecting the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party and Asue Ighodalo against the All Progressives Congress victory.
A five-member Supreme Court panel led by Mohammed Garba unanimously ruled on Thursday that the PDP and its candidate’s appeal lacked merit to overturn the election result.
The apex court upheld the lower courts’ finding that the appellants failed to provide credible evidence of irregularities or non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” the Supreme Court held in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Garba.
Asue Ighodalo and his party have appealed to the Supreme Court in case SC/CV/536/2025, seeking to overturn lower court rulings that confirmed the APC candidate’s victory in the state governorship election.
Represented by his lawyer, Ken Mosia, Asue Ighodalo asked the Supreme Court to declare the off-cycle election that brought his rival void and declare him and his party as the winner of the poll, given that the poll was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act.
On the other hand, the lawyer representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the appellant cannot be asking the court to declare the election as unlawful and illegal and still pray the court to declare them as winners of the poll.
The lawyer for Okpebolo also asked the court to dismiss the cases on the grounds of inconsistency in the cases, thereby making the prayers lacking in merit.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the APC candidate the winner of the election, having polled 291,667 votes. He was followed by Asue Ighodalo, who came in second with 247,247 votes, while Mr. Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party came in a distant third with 22,763 votes. Other candidates who contested the poll got a small fraction of the votes.
The electoral commission further announced that the APC candidate won ten of the 18 local government areas, with the PDP candidate winning marginally in the remaining local councils.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, the PDP, its candidates, and other political parties approached the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal and filed petitions against its conduct. In their arguments, they alleged that the election was not in compliance with the Electoral Act 2022, stating that INEC ought to have nullified the polls instead of declaring Senator Monday Okphebolo the winner.
As a result, some petitioners requested that the tribunal nullify the election and order a fresh election in Edo, where the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 are applicable. Ighhodalo requested that the court order INEC to declare him the winner of the election following the nullification of Senator Okpebholo’s victory in the poll.
However, Justice Wilfred Kpochi of the tribunal, in the lead judgement, faulted the allegations and prayers of the PDP and Asue Ighodalo for failing to convince the tribunal of non-compliance. He also noted that the petitioners failed to bring in substantial evidence that suggested noncompliance and irregularities during the election. The judgement upheld the declaration made by the electoral body.
Not satisfied with the judgement of the tribunal, Ighodalo approached the Appeal Court to seek redress, but the upper court dismissed his case and insisted that the tribunal was right with its verdicts and there was no reason for its judgement to be reversed.
The Election Was A Robbery
Reacting to the ruling of the apex court, Asue Ighodalo flayed the whole process right from the electioneering to the judicial proceedings, stating that despite the fact that the election was full of irregularities, it was validated by the judiciary.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the apex court’s judgement, he described the ruling as robbery and accused the highest court of betraying the hope of Nigerians who have put their trust in the institutions that are expected to uphold the country’s democracy but are doing the opposite.
“Though I accept the finality of its judgement, I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice.
“What happened in the September 2024 governorship election was not a contest. It was a robbery. Coordinated. Deliberate. And now, tragically validated by the highest court in the land. While I will not and can not obstruct any judicial pronouncement, no matter how flawed, I must never fear to speak truth to power.
“Like you, I feel a deep sense of betrayal. Not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy. You came out in hope. You voted for competence, for progress, for prosperity. And now, we are told that your voice does not matter. That your freely given mandate can be trampled without consequence.
I feel your pain. I share your anger. And I will never forget your courage. To every young person who saw in this moment the birth of a new Edo. To every elder who longed to see our state rise again. To every woman and man who prayed, campaigned, and voted. We may not have won the office, but we won something greater. We found one another. We discovered our collective strength.
“Though this painful chapter closes today, our beautiful story does not end. The struggle to reclaim the soul of our beloved state continues.
Yes, dark days may lie ahead. The weight of this illegitimacy will, unfortunately, echo beyond the halls of the Supreme Court. I fear Edo will feel it in the absence of leadership, in the poverty of policy, and in the daily suffering of her people.”
