S’Court Declares Monday Okpebholo Validly Elected Governor of Edo

•Ighodalo: I feel betrayed with the judgement, battle for better state continues

•Tinubu, Wike hail verdict, president urges gov to be magnanimous in victory, rally citizens for devt

Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan, Alex Enumah in Abuja and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, yesterday, affirmed the election of Senator Monday Okpebholo as Governor of Edo State.

The panel, in a unanimous judgement, held that the appellant failed to prove allegations of non-compliance as well as claim that Okpebholo did not win lawful votes cast during the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.

But the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, said he felt betrayed by the Supreme Court judgement.

But Ighodalo declared that the battle for a better Edo State would continue.

President Bola Tinubu, All Progressives Congress (APC), and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, congratulated Okpebholo, on his electoral victory, but urged him to be magnanimous in victory and rally the people for the development of the state.

Justice Mohammed Lawal, who read the lead judgement, stated that the Court of Appeal and Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal were in order in dismissing the case of Ighodalo for lacking merit.

Ighodalo had approached the apex court for an order setting aside the judgement of the lower court for being perverse for affirming the Edo tribunal’s verdict, which had earlier held that Okpebholo was the lawfully elected as governor.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo of APC winner of the September 21 governorship election. INEC said Okpebholo won majority of the votes cast at last year’s governorship election in Edo State.

According to INEC, Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to emerge winner, while Ighodalo came second with 247,274 votes. The candidate of Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata, finished a distant third with 22,763 votes.

Dissatisfied, Ighodalo and PDP approached the state election petition tribunal to challenge the result. They claimed that the governorship election was invalid because of alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

They had also prayed the court to nullify the declaration of Okpebholo as the winner on the ground that the election was marred by irregularities.

However, the tribunal, after considering the oral and documentary evidence presented before it by all parties, came to the conclusion that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of non-compliance and over-voting, amongst others.

The tribunal subsequently dismissed the case of Ighodalo and PDP and affirmed INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as lawful winner of the governorship poll.

Not satisfied still, Ighodalo approached the appellate court to challenge the verdict of the tribunal, but was again told that he failed to present a convincing case. It added that while he had called 19 witnesses to support its case, a majority of the witnesses called lacked the necessary competence to give evidence because they were not at the polling units to witness first hand, how the alleged irregularities and over-voting occurred.

Ighodalo, however, disagreed with the findings and conclusions of the appellate court, describing the judgement as perverse and accordingly approached the Supreme Court to redress his grievances.

He claimed that the appellate court pervertedd justice and misdirected itself when it unanimously held that the appellant did not prove the allegation of non-compliance and over-voting amongst others.

However, the apex court, in its conclusion held that the case of the appellant lacked merit, and that it had not find any tangible reasons to deviate from the judgement of the two lower courts.

Like the earlier judgements, the apex court stated that the appellant failed to call relevant witnesses to support their case, adding that the Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, which they relied upon to prove over-voting, was not put to use but simply dumped on the court.

The apex court also held that relevant documents, such as voter’s register, was not presented to prove over-voting.

It was the conclusion of the panel that the alleged irregularities, as claimed by the appellant, if even existed, were not substantial enough to affect the outcome of the election.

“The appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” Lawal held, and subsequently dismissed the case for lacking merit.

But Ighodalo urged his supporters not to give up on the state, no matter how hurtful and painful the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement might be.

He said, “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 cannot obstruct any judicial pronouncement, no matter how flawed, I must never fear to speak truth to power.”

The PDP candidate pointed out that like the people of Edo State he felt a deep sense of betrayal, “Not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy.”

While observing that “this painful chapter closes today,” he stated that the beautiful story did not end and that the struggle to reclaim the soul of the state continued.

Ighodalo stated, “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.

•”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.

•”But we are neither a fearful nor a broken people. We may be wounded. But all wounds heal. So, let this be our vow. We will not retreat. We will not be silenced. And we will never forget.”

“Ighodalo advised Okpebholo to govern the state aright.

“To those who now hold power undeserved, lead with humility. Govern with conscience. History sees what the courts may not. æAnd one day, it will deliver its own verdict.”

However, congratulating the winner, President Bola Tinubu, in a release issued by his Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, encouraged Okpebholo to be magnanimous in victory and rally the citizens of Edo across divides towards a singular vision of advancing the state’s development.

Tinubu said now that the governor had cleared the legal hurdles, it was time for him to accelerate the delivery of exceptional services and good governance to the people of Edo State, which he had already begun to do.

The president also congratulated the leadership and members of APC in Edo State, and called for cohesion and dedication in effectively discharging the mandate given by the people.

The leadership of APC, hailing the judgement, in a statement by National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, commended the judiciary for its dedication, professionalism and commitment to the rule of law, constitutional order and defence of electoral democracy as demonstrated in the adjudication of the matter.

Morka said with the final judicial affirmation, Okpebholo was poised to expand and consolidate on the monumental development strides he had started since his inauguration as governor.

APC said in the statement, “Our great party congratulates Governor Okpebholo on this historic victory. We thank our teeming members, supporters and the good people of Edo state for their steadfast support during this legal challenge.

“We urge all concerned parties, particularly the opposition contenders, to join hands with Governor Okpebholo as he works to deliver good governance and development for the shared progress of Edo state and people.”

Wike, in a statement, urged the governor to remain focused and see the victory as a call to selfless service to the people of Edo State.

The statement, signed by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, described the Supreme Court judgement as a finality of the mandate freely given to the governor by the people of Edo State.

Wike said, “This victory is for the people of Edo State, who elected Governor Okpebholo. It is a call for greater commitment to the service of the people.  I congratulate the governor and urge him to keep doing his best for the upliftment of Edo State and its people.”

He also urged the PDP candidate, Ighodalo, and other opposition members, to join hands with Okpebholo to  develop Edo State.

“Now that a final answer has been provided as to the question of who actually won the governorship election, it behooves all opponents of the governor to, in the collective interest of Edo State, to join hands with him,” he said.