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All Progressives Congress

Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Edo State Governorship Election Dispute

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Supreme Court last week reserved judgment on the appeal challenging the declaration of Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21 governorship election in Edo State. The appeal was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who claimed that the election was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act. The apex court is expected to carefully consider the issues in contention to give credibility to Nigeria's electoral process.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on the appeal challenging the declaration of Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
  • The appeal was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who claimed that the election was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
  • The PDP and Ighodalo alleged that Governor Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of the lawful votes cast during the election, and that INEC failed to serialise and pre-record some of the sensitive materials that were deployed for the poll.
  • The tribunal found that no competent witnesses were called to prove the averments in their petition, and dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.
  • Analysts are demanding that the Supreme Court exhibit courage, absolute impartiality and independence, as the outcome of the litigation will send out a powerful message about Nigeria's commitment to democracy.
  • The appellants' lawyers faulted the tribunal's verdict that the documents they tendered at trial were dumped on them, and argued that oral evidence was not needed in the nature of the case of the appellants.
  • The lawyers cited Section 51 (2) of the Electoral Act, which states that in cases of non-compliance, oral evidence is unnecessary when documentary evidence is available.

Statistics:

  • The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on May 29, after a three-member panel found that the appeal lacked merit.
  • The tribunal found that 133 units had evidence of over voting, which was dismissed by the tribunal and Court of Appeal.
  • The Lawyers' Association cited Section 72(1) of the Electoral Act, which mandates INEC to record the serial numbers and quantities of sensitive election materials.

Sources:

  • The Supreme Court,
  • Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vs Monday Okpebholo and Anor,
  • Electoral Act, 2022.

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