•Asue Ighodalo and Monday Okpebholo
Lawyers have predicted an overturn of the verdict on the Edo Governorship Election suit at the Appeal Court, citing what they consider the compromised ruling given on Wednesday by the Election Petition Tribunal.
The tribunal, against expectations, awarded victory to Governor Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was declared winner of the last governorship poll, reports Sunday Independent.
Barrister Olalekan Ojo, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, who spoke to our correspondent, maintained that the Tribunal’s decision in favour of Okpebholo of the APC has significant legal, political, and democratic implications.
Barrister Ojo, the Managing Partner, Platinum & Taylor Hill LP, one of Nigeria’s leading law firms, stated: “Legally, it affirms his (Okpebholo’s) victory, but may be challenged at the Court of Appeal.
“Politically, it strengthens the APC’s position in Edo State, potentially reshaping future elections. However, if the opposition appeals, political tension may persist.
“For democracy, the decision must be seen as credible and transparent to maintain public trust in the electoral system. The response from opposition parties and the electorate will determine its legitimacy.
“Moving forward, judicial integrity and electoral transparency remain crucial to ensuring that democracy is upheld in Edo State.”
Barrister Onyinye-Ghandi Chukwunyere, said the Edo Tribunal’s ruling was quite predictable. Any serious observer of the role of the Nigerian judiciary in the current dispensation would easily conclude that they are usually tied to the apron string of the party in power, or in some cases, the highest bidder.
Barrister Chukwunyere, the official spokesperson of Comrade Omoyele Sowore, the National Leader and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), stated, “Under the APC, especially since the nationalisation of Tinubu’s brand of patronage politics, no institution is immune to corrupt compromise.
“The judiciary in particular has been the most revolting theatre of corruption. We have seen the likes of Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister, brazenly dishing bribes to judges in the form of personal houses in Abuja and other parts of the country.
“In the mafioso calculation of the Tinubu sect, everyone and everything has a price, and can be bought.
“That is why we have been honest and blunt with the Nigerian people on the fact that this system must be dismantled, if the nation must move forward.
“Any hope of reform, or meaningful change from the current gang of rentiers, is totally misplaced. “We believe that sooner than later, the Nigerian people will draw the necessary conclusions from their very difficult subsistence in their own land, and rid themselves of the APC’s shackles.”
Barrister Blessing Joseph Afang, human rights activist and lawyer, however, said that this ruling reaffirmed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) declaration of Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21, 2024 election where he secured the highest votes over his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Barrister Afang, President, the International Human Rights Protection Service Florida, USA, Nigeria Chapter (IHRPS/F), stated: “The PDP, however, has expressed intention to appeal the decisions.
“While this outcome has solidified the All Progressives Congress’s position in the state, it is apparent that this legal contest may continue.
“However, the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s decision to uphold the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s victory is a significant development in Edo State’s political landscape.”
Why Tribunal Reaffirmed Okpebholo’s Victory
Incidentally, the Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Samson Osagie, weekend, gave insights into why the Edo Election Petition Tribunal which sat in Abuja reaffirmed the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo at the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
Osagie said the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its governorship candidate failed woefully to back their allegations with concrete evidence before the election tribunal, adding that it is not enough for the petitioner to throw tantrums here and there all for the sake of challenging the winner.
The former federal lawmaker spoke to newsmen on the sideline of the tenth-year remembrance anniversary of his late father, Pa Samson Imarhiagbe-Ogbewe, held at the family compound in Urhokuosa, in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo state which attracted dignitaries and well-wishers.
He said the victory of Okpebholo at the tribunal was a reaffirmation of practical governance as currently being witnessed with the flag off of massive projects across the state.
According to Osage, “The tribunal judgement for the APC and the Governor, His Excellency Monday Okpebholo, was merely stating the obvious.
“We know that Okpebholo won the election on September 21st, 2024 therefore, it could not have been otherwise for a tribunal that was confronted with no evidence of the allegation of malpractices by those who have petitioned.
“It is not enough to allege, it is not enough to throw tantrums that I won the election, but you must demonstrate that you won, this, the PDP and its candidate failed woefully to do.
“How do you defend and prosecute an election petition when you did not call any eyewitness in any part of the state? “You can’t go and forge papers and dump them in the court and ask the court to start reading and all that. “If the courts were to start looking at the documents and opening the BVAS studying it, they will probably need to go to Harvard and study how to operate the machines. “It was the duty of the petitioner to lead the tribunal to understand what they mean using the equipment they brought to court.
He further noted that the governor is more determined in delivering peoples-oriented projects adding that the Okpebholo’s administration in Edo state is God ordained.
Sheathe Your Sword, Bishop Edoro Pleads
Meanwhile, Bishop Joseph Ida Edoro, an Edo State-born cleric, has pleaded with Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the last Edo governorship election to sheathe his sword and allow Governor Monday Okpebholo to rule without further distractions.
Dr Edoro, who spoke to our correspondent in Lagos yesterday in reaction to the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Tribal, which was in favour of Okpebholo, noted that the tribunal struck out Ighodalo’s case against the incumbent governor.
The cleric stressed that the tribunal ruling was unanimous, although Ighodalo had described it as a travesty of justice. Edoro, an Esan like both Ighodalo and Okpebholo, described the two combatants as brothers, noting that in Nigeria, it is difficult to get justice even when one is right.
Edoro said: “The election tribunal in its judgment led by Justice Kpochi, struck out the case of the PDP and its candidate Asue Ighodalo in contention for the governorship seat of Edoro State. It was a unanimous decision.
“However, the law provides for an appeal, even to the Supreme Court. Be that as it may, the aggrieved Asue Ighodalo has called it a travesty of justice hoping that at a higher platform, the court will see to it more deeper.
“The issue here is what does that portend for Edo State? It is good to fight for justice, but this is rare in Nigeria. The powers-that-be have decided how it will be. I guess there is no point flogging a dead horse.”
According to Bishop Edoro, “Okpebholo is Esan and Edo, same with Ighodalo. This game is lost and the governor should not be distracted.”
The cleric maintained that Okpebholo should be allowed to do his best and the best for Edo, lamenting that the distractions over the tribunal case must be responsible for the slow pace of progress since inception.
Governor Okpebholo Sees Mass Defection To APC
Governor Okpebholo, yesterday, said a wave of massive defections will soon hit opposition political parties in the South-South zone ahead of the 2027 presidential election in the country.
Governor Okpebholo spoke at a special reception held for him at Ewatto, Esan South East Local Government Area of the state after the governor’s victory at the election petition tribunal ruling.
He thanked Edo people for their support, prayers, and counting him worthy to lead the State. He assured the people that Edo would progress and develop under his watch.
“The people of Edo State will not regret voting me as their governor. I am happy today that l am in a winning party.
“A party that was rejected by all and now has become the party that everybody wants to join. APC has come to stay as the government at the center is APC.
“Very soon, there will be a lot of defections into the APC.
“People will move and cross carpet from PDP, LP and other opposition parties into the APC, and that will be the beginning of the South South keying into the reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Today, I am happy and proud to say that I am a son to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “I am also proud to say I carry uncommon grace and uncommon transformation which I am already using to transform and develop Edo State.”
