Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State on the affirmation of his election by the Supreme Court.

The Edo State governorship election took place in September 2024, and Governor Okpebholo was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Supreme Court, as the final arbiter, upheld the election of the governor today.

According to the press statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), President Tinubu encourages Governor Okpebholo to be magnanimous in victory and rally the citizens of Edo across divides towards a singular vision of advancing the state’s development.

The President advises that now that the governor has cleared the legal hurdles, it is time for him to accelerate the delivery of exceptional services and good governance to the people of Edo State, which he has already begun to do.

President Tinubu also congratulates the leadership and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State and calls for cohesion and dedication in effectively discharging the mandate given by the people.

The Senate has mandated a joint committee to investigate the alarming rise of Ponzi schemes across the country, following the collapse of the Crypto Bullion Exchange (CBEX), which has reportedly defrauded investors of over ₦1.3 trillion.

The decision followed a motion sponsored by Senator Adetokunbo Abiru (Lagos East).

In a motion, the lawmaker expressed deep concern over the unchecked spread of fraudulent investment schemes, including the infamous MMM Nigeria (2016), MBA Forex (2020), and most recently CBEX, which lured millions of Nigerians with promises of high returns on digital assets.

Lawmakers in a debate warned that CBEX’s collapse had devastating financial and psychological consequences, pushing victims into depression, family breakdowns, and in some tragic cases, suicide.

The Senate expressed shock that CBEX operated unchecked for months despite its large-scale activities and online visibility, with no timely intervention from regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The joint committee is expected to hold a public hearing in the coming weeks and submit its findings within one month.

Monday Okpebholo, the governor of Edo State has been confirmed by the Supreme Court as the rightful winner of the September 21, 2024 governorship election. 
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‎This is the decision of a 5-member panel of the Apex Court after dismissing the appeal by Asue Igholdalo of the People’s Democratic Party who claims to have won the election.
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‎In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Lawal Garba, the Court held that the appellants failed to prove their case of over-voting, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, among other infractions which they cited as grounds to fault the electoral victory of Okpebholo.
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‎In a unanimous judgment, the Apex Court said the appellants failed to prove that the election was in non-compliance with the Electoral Act and that Ighodalo was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast.
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‎Specifically, the Apex Court held that the PDP candidate failed to prove non-compliance as he merely challenged the outcome of the election in 395 of the 4,519 polling units where elections were held.
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‎The Apex Court panel also said the 19 witnesses called at the Tribunal stage did not help the case of the PDP in challenging the outcome of the election.