The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s judgment in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Monday Okpebholo, seems not to be the end, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to challenge what it described as a judicial endorsement of electoral fraud.
In a statement issued in Abuja after reviewing the Certified True Copy of the judgment, the PDP Chairman in Edo State, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, described the verdict as a travesty that elevated technicalities above justice and ignored overwhelming evidence of electoral malpractice.
“We are proceeding to the Court of Appeal with the facts, the law, and the will of the Edo people firmly on our side,” Aziegbemi said, accusing the tribunal of acting as a “fourth respondent” in the matter by allegedly inventing legal barriers to protect a flawed election.
The PDP’s petition alleges that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manipulated the process to favour the APC and its candidate, Okpebholo, by deploying fake result sheets and ignoring its guidelines.
“The judgment failed to address an electoral coup,” said Anthony Ehilebo, Special Adviser on Media to the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
“Tap Initiative’s forensic audit revealed that many result sheets appeared to have been filled by a single hand. Yet, INEC’s own IReV portal still shows the authentic results.
Despite the PDP’s outcry, Okpebholo has moved to extend a hand of reconciliation, urging Ighodalo to join him in the task of building Edo State. But PDP leaders rejected the gesture, calling it premature.
“There can be no peace without justice,” said party stalwart, Goodluck Osaretin. “What happened was a stolen mandate. We are determined to retrieve it through the courts.”
HOWEVER, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, who was the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, has explained why he did not challenge the result of the election at the tribunal.
Recall that on October 21, 2024, the day the statutory window for filing petitions at the gubernatorial election tribunal closed, Akpata, who had campaigned on the mantra, #EdoWillBeOk, stated why he was not going to contest the election result.He said: “My decision not to approach the tribunal is not a capitulation to injustice but a resolute stand against a flawed system.
“I choose to rise above the quagmire of protracted legal battles that sometimes serve to legitimise a fundamentally compromised process.
“The burden of proof placed on petitioners is not just high; it is often insurmountable.” Akpata came a distant third with 22,763 votes in the election, which saw the candidate of APC, Okpebholo, being declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
