The Edo State Governorship Tribunal sitting in Abuja has dismissed a petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Adekunle Omoaje against Governor Monday Okpebholo and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the 2023 governorship election. The Tribunal ruled that the petition lacked merit and was frivolous, ultimately rejecting the claims made by the petitioners.
The Tribunal emphasized that Adekunle Omoaje, who filed the petition, had no locus standi to challenge the results of the election. It pointed out that Omoaje did not participate in the election and, therefore, lacked the legal standing to question the validity of the election outcome.
Omoaje’s grievance was centered around his claim of not being recognized as the National Chairman of the Action Alliance for the purposes of nominating a candidate for the election. However, the Tribunal found that his claims had no legal basis under the Electoral Act of 2022.
In his petition, Omoaje had sought the Tribunal’s intervention to declare the victory of Governor Okpebholo and the APC as illegal and void. He argued that there had been non-compliance with the Electoral Act, alleging corruption and claiming that Okpebholo and APC did not win a majority of lawful votes. Additionally, Omoaje contended that the Action Alliance had not been allowed to nominate a legitimate governorship candidate for the election, claiming that he had not signed the nomination form as the party’s National Chairman.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo of the APC the winner of the election with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,655 votes. The Tribunal, however, found no grounds to uphold Omoaje’s petition, reaffirming the legitimacy of Okpebholo’s victory and APC’s participation in the election.
