JUST IN: Edo Tribunal dismisses Action Alliance’s petition against Okpebholo, APC

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has thrown out the petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Adekunle Omoaje, challenging the election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Delivering its ruling on Wednesday, the three-member panel dismissed the case as baseless and without merit.

The petitioners had alleged electoral malpractice and violations of the Electoral Act during the governorship election held on September 21, 2024.

They claimed that Okpebholo did not lawfully win the majority of votes and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of wrongly declaring him the winner.

Additionally, the AA and Omoaje argued that their party was unfairly prevented from fielding a candidate due to an unsigned nomination form by the party’s National Chairman.

INEC had declared Okpebholo the winner of the election with 291,667 votes, while his closest contender, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 247,655 votes.

However, the tribunal ruled that Omoaje lacked the legal standing to challenge the election since he did not personally contest it.

It also held that his claims regarding INEC’s non-recognition of him as AA’s National Chairman were not valid under the Electoral Act 2022.

Consequently, the tribunal dismissed the petition in its entirety.