The Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has reserved judgment in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and it’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the outcome of the governorship election in the state.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, reserved judgment after counsel in the case presented their final written addresses.
Justice Kpochi stated that the date for the judgment would be communicated to the parties by the tribunal’s secretary.
During the resumed hearing, Kanu Agabi, the counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition, arguing that it lacked merit because the petitioners had not sought the annulment of the governorship election as one of their reliefs.
Agabi also contended that the number of polling unit agents called as witnesses was a small fraction of the total polling units in Edo State.
On his part, Onyechi Ikpeazu, counsel to the governor, asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition, arguing that it had become an academic exercise. He explained that after reviewing the petitioners’ documents and comparing them with those submitted by the defense, it was clear that his client had a significant lead in the polls.
Regarding Form EC25B, which the petitioners claimed should include the serial numbers of sensitive materials, Ikpeazu clarified that the form only required the quantity of electoral materials received and returned. He further argued that the petitioners had failed to tender the proper documents and, as a result, could not prove claims of overvoting.
In response, Ken Moze, counsel to the petitioners, emphasized that although there were 4,519 polling units in Edo, the petition specifically concerned 765 of them. He asserted that the success of an election petition is not based on the percentage of polling units but on the impact of the alleged irregularities. Moze further argued that the petition should be considered in its entirety, not in isolated parts.
Regarding the absence of an alternative result presented to the tribunal, Moze clarified that all results before the tribunal had been submitted by his client. He also addressed the petitioners’ decision to call only five polling unit agents, explaining that the focus of the complaint was on events at the collation centers, not the individual polling units, which is why fewer agents were needed to testify.
In response to claims that the petitioners had submitted documents inappropriately, Moze stated that all documents were duly certified by INEC and had been submitted without objection from the commission. He also argued that the tribunal had the jurisdiction to hear the petition since the allegations did not pertain to pre-election matters.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Kpochi reserved judgment, with the date to be communicated to the parties by the tribunal’s secretary.
The PDP and its governorship candidate, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, filed the petition, seeking the tribunal to invalidate the results of the governorship election due to alleged violations of the Electoral Act of 2022.
