The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, dismissed the petition filed by Accord Party against the declaration of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the 21 September 2024 governorship election.
Delivering judgement, the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal held that Accord Party and its governorship candidate, Bright Enabulele, made weighty allegations but failed to prove them.
The tribunal said that the petitioners failed to name any perpetrator to substantiate their allegations of thuggery, stuffing of ballots, harassing and molesting voters.
According to the tribunal, the two petitioners were so inconsistent in their claims with allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2002 and calling for nullification of the election on one hand while seeking to be declared winners on the other hand.
The Tribunal determined that the petition dealt with pre-election matters and, therefore, it did not have the necessary authority to address matters raised.
The petitioners claimed, among other allegations, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had unlawfully excluded their legitimate candidate from the governorship election that took place on September 21, 2024.
They alleged that contrary to various court judgements, the electoral body accepted and recognised a candidate that the party did not validly nominate for the exercise.
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According to the petitioners, INEC’s failure to publish the name of the rightful candidate of the party for the gubernatorial contest amounted to a substantial non-compliance to provisions of section 134(1) (b) of the Electoral Act.
“On the other hand, they are seeking to be declared winners of the election they claimed to have been conducted without compliance with the Electoral Act,” the tribunal ruled.
In addition to the argument that Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) failed to obtain the majority of valid votes during the election, the petitioners claimed that corrupt practices tainted the process.
The panel upheld all the preliminary objections that were lodged against the petition.
All the respondents, including INEC and Governor Okpebholo, had challenged the petition’s competence, stressing that the National Chairman of the AA was bereft of the locus standi to institute the action since he did not participate in the governorship poll.
They equally maintained that the petition was statute-barred as it contained pre-election matters that were beyond the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.
The tribunal held that there was no meaningful evidence for it to act upon to nullify the election of Mr Okpebholo and APC and subsequently dismissed the petition in its entirety.
The tribunal thereafter affirmed the election of Mr Okpebholo as being valid and conducted in compliance with the law.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the tribunal had earlier dismissed the petition filed by Action Alliance (AA)also challenging the declaration of Mr Okpebholo and the APC as winners of the Edo State governorship election.
The petition of AA was dismissed for being frivolous and lacking in merit.
