Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have secured their first victory in the legal battle over the September 21, 2024, Edo governorship election, as one of the petitions challenging their win has been dismissed.
According to BusinessDay, the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed a petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, ruling that it lacked merit and was frivolous.
In its first judgment on Wednesday, the tribunal held that Omoaje had no locus standi to file the joint petition.
The tribunal ruled that Omoaje lacked the authority to challenge the election results since he did not participate in the governorship poll.
It further held that his grievance stemmed from not being recognised as the National Chairman of the Action Alliance (AA) for the purpose of nominating a candidate. However, the tribunal stated that his claims had no legal basis under the Electoral Act 2022.
In his petition, Omoaje sought to have the tribunal declare the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Okpebholo and the APC as winners of the election illegal, unlawful, and void due to alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
He also accused the election of being marred by corruption and claimed that Okpebholo and the APC did not secure the majority of lawful votes.
Omoaje further claimed that the Action Alliance (AA) was denied the opportunity to nominate a valid governorship candidate for the election, arguing that his signature as the party’s National Chairman was not on the nomination form.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo of the APC as the winner with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest opponent, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 247,655 votes.
