The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, bringing an end to the legal battle over the September 2024 governorship poll.

In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, a five-member panel of justices led by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, describing it as lacking in merit.

The apex court ruled that Ighodalo failed to present credible and admissible evidence to support his claim that the election was fraught with irregularities such as over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

“The Appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof placed on him by the law,” the Supreme Court held.

It noted that most of the documents tendered by the PDP were not demonstrated through relevant witnesses, especially in relation to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, and

were merely dumped before the tribunal.

Ighodalo had approached the Supreme Court after both the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal upheld Okpebholo’s victory, insisting that the election results were manipulated in favor of the APC.

However, the Supreme Court upheld the earlier judgments, stating that the lower courts acted within the law and evidence presented.

Governor Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), having polled 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,655.

With this final ruling, Okpebholo’s mandate as duly elected governor of Edo State has been legally sealed and affirmed.