THE Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has reserved judgment in the case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the outcome of the state’s governorship election.
A three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, reserved the judgment after legal counsel from all parties adopted their final written addresses. Justice Kpochi stated that the date for the ruling would be communicated to the parties by the tribunal secretary.
At the hearing today, counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kanu Agabi, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition, arguing that the annulment of the election was not one of the reliefs sought by the petitioners. He also contended that the number of polling unit agents called as witnesses represented only a small fraction of the polling units in Edo State.
Similarly, counsel to the governor, Onyechi Ikpeazu, called for the dismissal of the petition, describing it as an academic exercise. He stated that after analyzing the polling units referenced in the petition, his client was still ahead in the election results.
Addressing claims about Form EC25B, where the petitioners argued that serial numbers of sensitive election materials must be provided, Ikpeazu maintained that only the quantity of materials received and returned was required. He further argued that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of overvoting due to insufficient documentation.
Responding, counsel to the petitioners, Ken Moze, clarified that their complaint involved 765 out of the 4,519 polling units in Edo. He insisted that election petitions should not be judged by the percentage of polling units affected but by the weight of the evidence presented.
Moze also countered claims that they failed to provide an alternative election result, stating that all results before the tribunal were tendered by his clients.
On why only five polling unit agents testified, he explained that the petition focused on events at collation centers rather than polling units, making additional testimonies unnecessary.
Regarding allegations of “document dumping” at the tribunal, Moze pointed out that all documents were duly certified by INEC and accepted without objection. He also affirmed that the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the case, as the allegations were not pre-election matters.
After hearing all arguments, Justice Kpochi reserved judgment, with the date to be communicated to the parties in due course.
The PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, are seeking to invalidate the election results, citing alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022.
