Edo Governorship Petition Hearing Stalled Due to Supreme Court Case
The hearing of the petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the declaration of Governor Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the Edo State governorship election has been delayed. The delay was due to a motion filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking an adjournment to attend a case before the Supreme Court.
The three-man tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, had initially scheduled the hearing to take place on January 13, 2025, after adjourning from the December 21, 2024 session. However, when the petition was called for hearing on Monday, the tribunal was informed that both INEC and the APC had requested a postponement, citing a Supreme Court case set for Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
The Assistant Secretary to the Tribunal, Dayo Dahunsi, informed the court that the motion was filed by the first respondent, INEC, and the second respondent, APC, requesting the adjournment to Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Dahunsi explained that the request was made due to the availability of the lead counsel for the two respondents, who would be occupied with the Supreme Court matter.
Ken Mozia, SAN, the petitioner’s counsel, expressed no opposition to the adjournment, cooperating in the interest of the case’s progress. However, he stipulated that future requests for adjournment should be avoided.
Justice Wilfred Kpochi granted the adjournment, rescheduling all related petitions for Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
The dispute stems from the September 22, 2024, declaration by INEC that Senator Monday Okpebholo, the APC candidate, won the election with 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes.
