Edo Poll: Supreme Court hears PDP, Ighodalo's appeal, adjourns for judgement
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, adjourned for judgement on the Edo State governorship election dispute, after hearing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the state, Asue Ighodalo.
Garba Lawal, the presiding justice of the Supreme Court panel that sat on the case, said the date for the judgement would be communicated to parties involved.
The court adjourned the judgement after taking arguments for and against the appeal.
Mr Ighodalo and the PDP filed the appeal to challenge the Court of Appeal decision which dismissed their case in May and affirmed Monday Obekpolo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the duly elected governor of the state.
The decision of the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal panel affirmed the decision of the lower Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which earlier validated the governor’s victory in the 21 September 2024 election.
At Wednesday’s proceedings of the Supreme Court, Mr Ighodalo’s appeal against the Court of Appeal judgement was argued by his lawyer, Ken Mosia, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Mr Moisa prayed the Supreme Court to remove Mr Okpebholo.
Maintaining that his clients – Mr Ighodalo and the PDP – scored the majority of lawful votes in the election, Mr Moisa urged the court to declare them the winner of the election.
However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a respondent to the appeal represented by Kanu Agabi, also a SAN, asked the court to dismiss the appeal in its entirety.
Mr Agabi argued that Mr Ighodalo and PDP had in their petition stigmatised as invalid and unlawful on ground of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022.
The electoral body said having declared the election as unlawful and illegal, Ighodalo and PDP cannot turn around and pray the court to declare them as winners of illegality.
The legal teams of the APC and Mr Okpebholo similarly called for the dismissal of the appeal and affirmation of the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the election tribunal validating the election results of declared by INEC.
