The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, threw out a case the Action Alliance, AA, filed to nullify the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
The three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi found that the petition brought by the AA and its National Chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, lacked merit.
The tribunal held that the petition raised pre-election matters over which it lacked jurisdiction.
The petitioners contended, among other things, that the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, barred their lawful candidate from the governorship election held on September 21, 2024.
They claimed that, contrary to various court rulings, the electoral body approved and recognised a candidate who was not legitimately nominated by the party.
The petitioners argued that INEC’s failure to publish the party’s candidate for the gubernatorial contest violated section 134(1)(b) of the Electoral Act.
Additionally, they argued that Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not secure the majority of lawful votes cast during the election.
The panel refused to nullify the election on Wednesday, upholding all preliminary arguments against the petition.
The respondents, including INEC and Edo State Governor Okpebholo, questioned the petition’s competence, arguing that the National Chairman of the AA lacked the necessary standing to initiate the action as he did not participate in the governorship poll.
They also argued that the petition was statute-barred because it included pre-election matters beyond the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
It is worth noting that the AA’s candidate, Mr Tom Iseghhi-O, was the subject of the petition.
