Supreme Court Affirms Monday Okpebholo As Edo State Governor
The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo state.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court held that Ighodalo’s petition seeking to annul Okpebholo’s election lacks merit.
According to the Supreme Court, it found no reason to set aside the concurrent judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which returned Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest.
It held that the Appellant(Ighodalo) failed to adduce credible and admissible evidence to substantiate his claim that the election was marred by irregularities that included over-voting and substantial non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
Likewise, it held that the Appellant failed to call relevant witnesses to demonstrate some of the evidence he tendered in support of his case, especially the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines.
It held that some of the proof of evidence, which were tendered were merely dumped on the tribunal without establishing alleged non-compliance in 432 out of a total of 4,519 polling units in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on September 24, 2025, declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the Edo state governorship election which took place on Saturday, September 21.
