By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA–The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has fixed Wednesday to deliver its judgement on the case the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, filed to challenge the outcome of gubernatorial poll that held in the state on September 21, 2024.
The Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal communicated the judgement date to the parties in the early hours of Tuesday.
The panel had on March 3, reserved its verdict after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
PDP and Ighodalo are challenging the declaration of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the gubernatorial contest.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had 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.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, alleging that it was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, it was alleged that Governor Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes that were cast at the election.
It was equally the contention of the petitioners that INEC failed to serialise and pre-record some of the sensitive materials that were deployed for the poll, a situation they said aided the rigging of the election in favour of the APC and its candidate.
While adopting their final written address on Monday, the petitioners, through their team of lawyers led by Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, alleged that there was wrong computation of results in 765 polling units in the state.
According to the petitioners, results from the polling units were manipulated at the collation centers.
“We concede that elections took place at the polling units, but my lords, for instance, how 25 votes metamorphosed to 525 votes at a particular collation center, is what we are quarrelling with,” counsel to the petitioners submitted.
Insisting that they adduced sufficient evidence needed to prove their case, the petitioners urged the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return that was issued to governor Okpebholo and declare Ighodalo as the bonafide winner of the governorship contest.
However, on their part, all the respondents in the matter — INEC, Okpebholo and APC — prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition which they maintained was devoid of merit.
According to the respondents, the petitioners failed to by way of credible evidence, establish their claim that they won the election.
INEC’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, noted that the petitioners’ reliefs were incongruous with the case they brought before the tribunal.
He noted that whereas the petitioners claimed that the gubernatorial election was invalid by reason of alleged non-compliance, they still sought to be declared winner of the same poll.
Agabi, SAN, further noted that despite the number of polling units the petitioners challenged their results, they only brought five polling unit agents to testify before the tribunal, a number he said was insignificant.
More so, Agabi, SAN, argued that all polling unit agents that appeared as witnesses, admitted that they signed copies of results of the election.
“This is a clear indication that the election was conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
“The results were duly collated at all levels of collation. The petitioners have not pleaded any alternative results on the basis of which they can be declared as winners.
“The case of the petitioners is based on analysis undertaken by hired consultants,” INEC’s lawyer added.
While adopting his processes, counsel to governoror Okpebholo, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, maintained that the petition was an academic exercise.
He contended that the law only mandated INEC officials to indicate the number of sensitive materials they received and the quantity returned, insisting that it did not include recording of serial numbers of the materials.
Governor Okpebholo’s lawyer equally argued that the Supreme Court earlier held that one could not prove over-voting without the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, Machines.
He insisted that the petitioners merely produced and dumped the BVAS before the tribunal without opening any of them to demonstrate the alleged over-voting.
Likewise, the APC, through its counsel, Mr Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, argued that the petitioners failed to discharge the burden of proof that was placed on them by the law.
He argued that the apex court had repeatedly held that over-voting must be proved in each of the disputed polling units, wards and Local Governments.
Therefore, he urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition and affirm INEC’s declaration that governor Okpebholo was the valid winner of the governorship contest.
Whereas the petitioners closed their case after they called 19 witnesses that testified and tendered evidence before the panel, INEC, failed to call any witness, though it tendered the certified copy of the election result as an exhibit.
On their part, while governor Okpebholo produced only one witness, the APC closed its own case with the evidence of four witnesses.
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