Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have secured an initial victory in the legal battles challenging their win in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election
The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal dismissed a petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, ruling that it lacked merit and was frivolous.
Delivering its first judgment on Wednesday, the Tribunal held that Omoaje had no locus standi to file the petition, as it was unrelated to the electoral process. The Tribunal noted that since Omoaje did not participate in the election, he lacked the legal right to contest its validity.
The ruling further stated that Omoaje’s grievance stemmed from not being recognized as the National Chairman of AA for candidate nominations, a matter the Tribunal ruled was not covered under the Electoral Act of 2022.
In his petition, Omoaje had sought to nullify the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Okpebholo and the APC as winners, citing alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act, corruption, and claims that the APC did not secure the majority of lawful votes. He also argued that AA was prevented from nominating a legitimate governorship candidate.
INEC had declared Okpebholo the winner with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest opponent, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 247,655 votes.
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 have secured an initial victory in the legal battles challenging their win in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election){kind=link}
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