The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, dismissed the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) seeking to nullify the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo. The tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, terminated the proceedings after the SDP withdrew its case.
During the resumed hearing, the SDP’s counsel, Mr. Jackson Ehiavhie, informed the tribunal that the party had received instructions from its National Secretariat to withdraw the petition. With no objections from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Justice Kpochi ruled to dismiss the petition.
The SDP was one of six political parties that challenged the outcome of the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election. INEC had declared Governor Okpebholo of the APC as the winner with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes. Other parties that filed petitions included the PDP, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Accord Party (AP), and Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).
In its withdrawn petition, the SDP had alleged that the election process violated the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines. The party claimed that the failure of INEC’s Presiding Officers to electronically transmit the collated votes at polling units invalidated the results. The SDP argued that, due to these irregularities, the declaration of Governor Okpebholo as the winner was a nullity.
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