The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Anthony Aziegbemin, has expressed confidence that the party and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, will emerge victorious at the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
This comes as the three-member panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, adjourned proceedings to Wednesday to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to defend the results that declared Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.
The tribunal, which is sitting in Abuja, adjourned for INEC—the first defendant in the case—to present its defence. The commission’s legal team comprises five Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), led by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN.
Meanwhile, Aziegbemin expressed satisfaction with the testimonies and evidence presented by the 19 witnesses called by the PDP and its candidate.
“We are confident of victory because we have presented our witnesses to speak to our case, which is primarily about the fact that elections were conducted across the 4,519 polling units in Edo State,” he said.
The PDP chairman noted that while there were minimal issues at the polling unit level, irregularities allegedly surfaced at the ward collation level with INEC’s involvement.
“At the unit level, we do not have issues except for a few places. Where the issues started manifesting, with the connivance of INEC, was at the ward level.
“We believe that the case is pretty straightforward, and we believe that it is documentary-based. We called the witnesses that we needed to prove our case,” Aziegbemin added.
He further criticized INEC for opposing the admission of 153 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines in evidence.
The PDP had sought to use the machines to establish alleged over-voting in 133 polling units, where the results are being contested.
“You conducted an election and certified documents for the petitioners, yet when the petitioners wanted to tender the same documents, you objected.
“I can understand Okpebholo and the APC objecting, but for INEC to object to its own documents being tendered in court, I think it is strange,” Aziegbemin stated.
INEC had declared Governor Okpebholo the winner of the September 21, 2024 election with 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Ighodalo, who secured 247,655 votes.
However, the petitioners (PDP and Ighodalo) argue that Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of lawful votes, alleging that the election process violated provisions of the Electoral Act.
The PDP is urging the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return issued to Okpebholo by INEC, arguing that the election was not conducted in compliance with the law.
With INEC set to open its defence on Wednesday, political observers and stakeholders await the next phase of the legal battle over the Edo governorship election. The tribunal’s decision could have far-reaching implications for the state’s political landscape.