Tribunal dismisses SDP’s petition against Governor Okpebholo

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja has dismissed the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) challenging the election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo.

The case was struck out after the party decided to withdraw its petition.

During Tuesday’s session, SDP’s legal counsel, Jackson Ehiavhie, informed the tribunal that his client was no longer pursuing the case.

He stated that the decision to withdraw was based on instructions from the party’s national leadership.

Lawyers representing the respondents—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress (APC)—did not object to the withdrawal.

In response, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, who chairs the three-member tribunal, ruled that the petition be dismissed, given the petitioner’s decision to discontinue the case.

The SDP was among six political parties that had approached the tribunal, seeking to overturn INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

According to INEC’s official results, the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes, defeating 17 other candidates, including his closest opponent, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes.

Apart from the PDP and its candidate, other parties challenging the election outcome include the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Accord Party (AP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).