The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo, declaring him the legitimate winner of the September 21, 2024 Edo State governorship poll.
In a unanimous ruling, the five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo, as lacking substance.
Delivering the lead judgment, the apex court ruled that there was no compelling reason to set aside the concurrent verdicts of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had both upheld Okpebholo’s victory under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The court held that Ighodalo did not provide credible or sufficient evidence to prove claims of electoral malpractice, including allegations of over-voting and widespread non-compliance with the Electoral Act. It noted that the PDP candidate failed to present key witnesses or properly demonstrate how the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) data supported his allegations.
“The appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof required by law,” Justice Garba ruled, dismissing claims that the poll result should be overturned.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal, chaired by Justice M. A. Danjuma, had thrown out Ighodalo’s petition, affirming the May 15 ruling of the tribunal that validated INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as winner with 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,655.
However, shortly after Thursday’s final ruling affirming his defeat, Asuerinme Ighodalo released a strongly worded statement expressing disappointment and accusing the system of betraying Edo people’s trust.
In his words: “Though I accept the finality of its judgment, I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice. What happened in the September 2024 Governorship Election was not a contest. It was a robbery. Coordinated. Deliberate. And now, tragically validated by the highest court in the land.”
Ighodalo acknowledged that he would not obstruct any judicial pronouncement, “no matter how flawed”, but vowed to continue speaking truth to power.
“Like you, I feel a deep sense of betrayal — not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy,” he declared, urging his supporters not to lose hope despite what he described as a stolen mandate.
He then praised Edo people for their resilience:“We may not have won the office, but we won something greater. We found one another. We discovered our collective strength… Though this painful chapter closes today, our beautiful story does not end. The struggle to reclaim the soul of our beloved state continues.”
Ighodalo said that the “weight of this illegitimacy” would haunt the state in poor governance and failed policies but urged Edolites not to retreat:“To those who now hold power undeserved, lead with humility. Govern with conscience. History sees what the courts may not. And one day, it will deliver its own verdict.”
