Politics
Edo Tribunal Upholds Okpebholo’s Election
By Benjamin Abioye
The Edo State Governorship Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has dismissed a petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Adekunle Omoaje against Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Tribunal ruled that the petition lacked merit and was frivolous.
The Tribunal stated that Omoaje, who filed the petition, did not have the legal standing to bring the case forward. It emphasized that Omoaje did not participate in the governorship election and therefore had no right to challenge the validity of the election.
The Tribunal further explained that Omoaje’s grievance stemmed from not being recognized as the National Chairman of Action Alliance for the purpose of nominating a candidate for the election. However, the Tribunal found that his claims had no basis under the Electoral Act of 2022.
In his petition, Omoaje requested the Tribunal to annul the declaration of Okpebholo and the APC as the winners of the election, which was made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He argued that the declaration was illegal, unlawful, and void due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act. Additionally, Omoaje alleged that there was corruption involved in the process and claimed that Okpebholo and the APC did not win the majority of lawful votes in the election.
Omoaje also argued that Action Alliance was not allowed to nominate a legitimate governorship candidate for the election because he, as National Chairman, was not permitted to sign the nomination form.
Despite these claims, INEC had declared Okpebholo of the APC as the winner of the election with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 247,655 votes.
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