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.

Asue Ighodalo, the honorable candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election, has kicked against the Supreme Court’s judgment confirming Governor Monday Okpebholo as the rightful winner, describing the ruling as a painful blow to justice and democracy.

In a statement released on Thursday, moments after the apex court dismissed his appeal, Ighodalo acknowledged the finality of the decision.

Ighodalo said: “Though I accept the finality of its judgment, I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice,” he said.

Below is a copy of Ighodalo’s statement of the Supreme Court’s judgment:

“What happened in the September 2024 Governorship Election was not a contest. It was a robbery. Coordinated. Deliberate. And now, tragically validated by the highest court in the land.”

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous verdict delivered by Justice Mohammed Garba, upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had dismissed Ighodalo’s petition and affirmed Okpebholo’s victory.

The court held that the PDP and its candidate failed to present credible evidence of alleged electoral irregularities, including over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

It faulted the PDP for relying on documentary evidence that was “dumped” on the court without proper demonstration, and for failing to call essential witnesses to validate their claims, particularly regarding data from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

Despite the legal defeat, Ighodalo praised the spirit of his supporters, especially the youth and elders who he said had placed hope in his candidacy.

“To every young person who saw in this moment the birth of a new Edo… to every woman and man who prayed, campaigned, and voted — we may not have won the office, but we won something greater.

We found one another. We discovered our collective strength,” he wrote.

Ighodalo warned that the consequences of what he described as a “flawed” judgment would be felt in the governance of the state.

“I fear Edo will feel it in the absence of leadership, in the poverty of policy, and in the daily suffering of her people,” he said, urging those currently in power to “lead with humility” and “govern with conscience,” while stressing that “history sees what the courts may not.”

“Though this painful chapter closes today, our beautiful story does not end. The struggle to reclaim the soul of our beloved state continues… We will not retreat. We will not be silenced.

And we will never forget.”

Recall that Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship poll with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo of the PDP who polled 247,655 votes.

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.