The Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has rejected the Accord Party’s petition, which claimed non-compliance and sought the declaration of Governor Okpebholo as the Governor of Edo State. This decision follows the earlier dismissal of a similar petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Adekunle Omoaje against Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was deemed meritless and frivolous.
In its proceedings, the tribunal issued four rulings regarding the Accord Party’s petition.
In the first ruling, presided over by Justice Wilfred Kpichi, the Tribunal determined that the Accord Party did not present adequate evidence to substantiate its allegations of non-compliance, thereby ruling against the petitioners. The second ruling addressed the claim that Okpebholo had not secured the necessary number of lawful votes, ultimately siding with Okpebholo.
The third and fourth rulings involved the Tribunal’s dismissal of the Accord Party’s request to have their candidate declared the election winner.
The three-member panel referenced previous judgments from the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, underscoring the necessity for relevant facts to be presented for such requests to be considered. Additionally, the Tribunal criticized the Accord Party’s petition for its lack of clarity and failure to articulate the factual basis of the claims.
