By Euclid Myke, Abuja
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asserted that the verdict of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal was an absolute miscarriage of justice and a complete betrayal of the trust Nigerians, particularly the people of Edo State invested in the Election Tribunal.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba on Thursday argued that with the avalanche of evidence presented and admitted by the Tribunal, it was clear that its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo won the September 21, 2024 Edo State Governorship election, having scored the highest number of valid votes cast in the election.
“It is very disturbing that despite the overwhelming evidence and findings by the Tribunal that the PDP was robbed of its clear victory at the election through manipulations including wrongful allocation of votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC), arbitrary and illegal cancellation of valid votes won by the PDP, the Election Tribunal contradicted itself by coming to a conclusion that is at variance with its own findings.
“More distressing is that this judgment by the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal constitutes a major threat to the confidence Nigerians have in democracy and adjudication of electoral matters”.
PDP stated that democracy can only thrive in an atmosphere of adherence to the Rule of Law and adjudication of issues which can only be accepted by the people when indeed a tribunal of such nature impartially apply the law, the facts and body of evidence made available to it at proceedings.
The party said that consistent with its avowed belief in the capacity of the judiciary to, in appropriate cases, ensure that justice is done, “our Party and candidate Dr. Asue Ighodalo are proceeding to the Court of Appeal where we believe that there will be a conscientious judicial review of the matter to give justice to the people of Edo State”.
PDP called on the people of Edo State to remain resolute and not allow the verdict of the Election Tribunal to dampen their confidence in the institution of the Judiciary and democracy in Nigeria as they await the restoration of the mandate they freely gave to our Party and candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja had on Wednesday affirmed Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress as the valid winner of the September 21 governorship election.
In a unanimous judgment, a three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
The tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and upheld that Okpebholo secured the highest number of valid votes.
The tribunal also criticised the manner in which the petitioners presented their evidence, stating that it did not sufficiently support their claims.
