President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo, urging him to use it as a boost to fast-track development in the State.
This followed Thursday’s dismissal by the Supreme Court of the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo, over the outcome of the Sept. 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo.
This is contained in a statement issued by President Tinubu’s Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga on Thursday that the President welcomed the court’s verdict as a boost for governance, urging the governor to be magnanimous in victory and unite all Edo citizens behind a shared vision for progress.
”Now that the governor has cleared the legal hurdles, it is time for him to accelerate the delivery of exceptional services and good governance to the people of Edo State, which he has already begun to do,” Tinub said.
He also congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo, calling for unity and commitment to the people’s mandate.
The Appellants had challenged the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which announced Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of that election.
Ighodalo’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ken Mozia, asked the court to overturn the judgments of the lower courts, which had upheld INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as winner.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Asuerinme Ighodalo, filed to nullify the outcome of the governorship election held in the state on Sept. 21, 2024.
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 noted that the Appellant 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.
