The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, has upheld the election of Monday Okpebholo as the elected governor of Edo State.
The court dismissed the appeal filed by Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state.
However, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has congratulated Okpebholo on his legal victory.
In a statement by his senior special assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike described the court’s decision as “a further confirmation of the mandate freely and genuinely given to Okpebholo by the people of Edo State.”
In its judgment, a three-member panel of the court led by Justice Mohammed Danjuma, unanimously held that the appeal by Ighodalo was unmeritorious and was accordingly dismissed.
The court held that the appellants failed to show that the election tribunal erred in its decision and proceeded to affirm the judgment of the tribunal delivered.
Ighodalo has rejected the judgment and said the verdict of the appellate court would be contested at the Supreme Court.
At the poll in September 2024, Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 291,667 votes to defeat PDP’s Ighodalo who got 247,274 votes, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than the three frontline candidates.
The APC candidate cleared over 10 of the 18 local government areas, leaving the PDP candidate with marginal victory in the other local councils. The APC gained control in two of the three battleground senatorial districts in the state.
He was immediately declared returned elected by the electoral umpire INEC and sworn in as governor on November 12, 2024 when he took over the much-coveted seat at the Dennis Osadebe House from PDP’s Godwin Obaseki.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, Ighodalo approached the election petition tribunal to disqualify Okpebholo but a three-member panel headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, in April 2025, dismissed Ighodalo’s petition.
In its judgment, the panel ruled that Ighodalo, alongside other petitioners like the Accord Party, failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the Tribunal said non-compliance must be proven convincingly. It noted that the failure of the petitioners to call polling unit officers, presiding officers or even voters during the election proved fatal to their petition.
Meanwhile, Wike urged Governor Okpebholo to remain focused and committed to good governance and provision of democracy dividends to the people.
The minister expressed strong confidence in the Governor’s performance since taking office, stating, “I have watched him since he assumed office and I can say that he has been doing well for Edo State and its people.
“For me, I believe in him, and I am confident that his government will have a sustainable impact on Edo State.”
The minister also directly urged the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, to accept the Appeal Court’s verdict, advising that, “he should in the collective interest of Edo State, accept the judgment and allow the sleeping dogs of the election to lie.”
