Supreme Court Confirms Okpebholo as Edo Governor, Ighodalo Cries Foul

The Supreme Court has confirmed Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected governor of Edo State, ending a legal tussle that followed the September 2024 governorship election.

A five-member panel of justices delivered the ruling on Thursday, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

The lead judgment by Justice Lawal Garba stated that the PDP failed to prove claims of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

“The appellants did not provide evidence to show the election failed to comply with electoral laws,” the court held.

The judgment noted that Ighodalo’s petition focused on just 395 out of 4,519 polling units.

It added that the 19 witnesses presented during the tribunal hearings did not support the PDP’s claims.

This ruling aligns with earlier verdicts from the election petition tribunal and the Court of Appeal, both of which also upheld Okpebholo’s victory.

Ighodalo Reacts: “What Was Delivered Amounts to Injustice”

Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Asue Ighodalo released a strongly worded statement titled “Final Statement on the Supreme Court Judgement in the Edo Governorship Election Petition.”

He described the verdict as a “tragedy” and accused the judiciary of validating “electoral robbery.”

“Though I accept the finality of its judgment, I do not and cannot pretend that what was delivered amounts to justice,” he wrote.

According to him, “What happened in the September 2024 Governorship Election was not a contest. It was a robbery. Coordinated. Deliberate. And now, tragically validated by the highest court in the land.”

He accused democratic institutions of betraying the people’s trust.

“Like you, I feel a deep sense of betrayal. Not just by those who rigged the process, but by the very institutions we trusted to protect our democracy,” he added.

Edo People Will Feel the Impact, Says Ighodalo

Ighodalo warned that Edo State would suffer from what he called an “illegitimate leadership.”

“The weight of this illegitimacy will, unfortunately, echo beyond the halls of the Supreme Court,” he wrote.

“I fear Edo will feel it in the absence of leadership, in the poverty of policy, and in the daily suffering of her people.”

He urged Okpebholo to lead with “humility” and govern with “conscience.”

“History sees what the courts may not. And one day, it will deliver its own verdict.”

This is not the first time Ighodalo’s petition has failed.

In May 2025, the Court of Appeal also threw away his case for lacking merit. Justice Mohammed Danjuma held that the PDP failed to establish any miscarriage of justice.

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