Ighodalo loses as Supreme Court affirms Okpebholo as Edo governor

The Supreme Court has affirmed Monday Okpebholo as the duly elected governor of Edo State.

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, July 10, 2025, affirmed Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.

The five-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba Lawal upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, saying the appellants could not establish their claims of election non-compliance, unlawful votes, and that Okpebholo was not duly elected.

The apex court, therefore, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo, for lacking merit.

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The appeal challenges the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which announced Okpebholo as the winner of the election.

Ighodalo’s legal team, led by Ken Mozia (SAN), asked the Supreme Court to overturn the judgements of the lower courts, which had upheld INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as winner.

On May 29, 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

Both courts dismissed Ighodalo’s petition, describing it as lacking merit.

The Star