The Edo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last September election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo has vowed to challenge the judgement of the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal delivered on Wednesday at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, calling it a ‘travesty of justice’.
The three-member panel unanimously affirmed candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, as the duly elected governor. Delivering judgwment, the tribunal chairman, Justice Wilfred Kpochi held that PDP and its candidate, Ighodalo, failed to prove the allegations against the respondents.
The tribunal held that ‘no competent witnesses were called’ to prove the averments in their petition.
The tribunal said that the petitioners failed to prove their allegation that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not substantially comply with provisions of the Electoral Act during the conduct of the election.
The tribunal also held that most of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners gave hearsay evidence, noting that they were neither polling unit agents, presiding officers, or voters who participated in the election or polling units.
According to INEC, the APC candidate polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got 247,274 votes.
Labour Party’s Barrister Olumide Akpata finished a distant third with 22,763 votes.
But in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, Ighodalo, a legal practitioner, argued that ‘the right of the people of Edo State to choose their leaders through a credible, free and fair electoral process must never be compromised’.
He said that, ‘as an avowed democrat, I respect the judiciary as the hope of the common man, and I urge all of you, our good people of Edo State to remain peaceful, calm and law-abiding’.
He, however, insisted that ‘this is not the end of our journey, but the beginning of a greater struggle for justice, democracy, and the sanctity of the people’s mandate freely conferred on my running mate, Barrister Osarodion Ogie and I, on the platform of our great Party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’.
He added that: ‘I have, therefore, instructed my legal team to proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge this decision which we consider a huge travesty of justice.
‘While we all may not agree with the verdict, we, however, remain steadfast in our belief that the rule of law must remain the bedrock of our democracy. Our pursuit of justice in this regard is an affirmation of our firm belief that the right of the good people of Edo State to freely choose their leaders through a credible, free and fair electoral process must never be compromised.
‘From the very beginning, your massive show of support, sincere love and belief in our shared vision for a prosperous Edo State have been the driving force behind this journey. For us, it has never been about the realisation of a personal ambition but about our conviction to create a clear Pathway to Prosperity for all Edo people while upholding the foundational values of democracy, justice, and the will of the people.
‘This is not about me or any single individual; it is about the very essence of democracy, the preservation of our collective right to freely determine our future, and the legacy we leave for generations unborn.
“We remain resolute. We remain committed. And we shall not waver in our pursuit of truth and justice’.
