The Petition Tribunal for the Edo State Governorship Election sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, declined to nullify the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
A three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Wilfred Klochi refused to order Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct a fresh governorships poll in Edo State.
The tribunal held that the was petition that was brought before it by the Accord Party, AP, and its gubernatorial candidate in the state, could not be granted as the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law.
According to the tribunal, “general and sweeping allegations” against the outcome of the election, they failed to bring particulars of exact polling units or wards where the alleged widespread rigging and non-compliance occured.
Describing some of the prayer in the petition as “vague”, the tribunal held that allegations against governor Okpebholo’s victory, were not substantiated.
The tribunal found merit in all the preliminary objections that were filed to challenge the competence of the petition.
It will be recalled that while the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291, 667 votes to defeat his closet rivalry, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247, 655 votes, candidate of the AP scored a total of 252 votes.
Dissatisfied with the result, AP and its candidate lodged the petition, insisting that the election was fraught with manifest irregularities they said included multiple thumbprinting, violence, intimidation and harassment of voters, as well as alleged failure to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines in various polling units in the state.
The Justice Kochi-led panel held that the petition did not disclose any reasonable cause of action.
The tribunal had earlier dismissed another petition the Action Alliance, AA, also filed to nullify governor Okpebholo’s election.
With the two cases gone, the panel is set to decide the joint petition the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo, filed to be declared authentic winners of the disputed governorship contest
