The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the election of Monday Okpebholo as the governor of Edo State in the 2024 governorship election. In a ruling delivered on Thursday, a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed an appeal from Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), aimed at nullifying the election results from September 21, 2024.

Justice Garba stated that the appellants, Ighodalo and the PDP, failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Okpebholo did not secure lawful votes, nor did they effectively demonstrate that the previous decisions by the tribunal and the Court of Appeal were erroneous. “The appeal is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit, affirming the decision of the tribunal and Court of Appeal,” he said.

Ighodalo’s counsel, Ken Mosia, had argued before the apex court that Okpebholo’s election should be annulled and that Ighodalo should be declared the rightful winner, emphasizing that he had received a majority of the lawful votes cast. However, Kanu Agabi, representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urged the court to reject the appeal entirely, supporting the commission’s earlier declaration that Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had won the election.

Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, outperforming Ighodalo, who received 247,274 votes. The Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, trailed significantly with 22,763 votes.

Following the election, Ighodalo and the PDP approached the tribunal to contest the validity of the results, alleging multiple irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022. However, on April 2, a three-member panel of the tribunal, led by Wilfred Kpochi, ruled that Ighodalo and his party failed to substantiate their claims, stating that “no competent witnesses were called” to support their allegations.

The petitioners subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal, but on May 29, a three-member appellate panel, led by Mohammed Danjuma, similarly dismissed their case for lacking merit, ultimately leading to the Supreme Court ruling that solidified Okpebholo’s position as governor.