The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has dismissed the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) challenging the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
The tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, terminated proceedings on Tuesday after the SDP formally withdrew its petition against the governor.
At the resumed hearing, SDP’s legal representative, Mr. Jackson Ehiavhie, informed the tribunal that the party was no longer interested in pursuing the case.
“I have received instructions from the National Secretariat of the SDP to withdraw the matter,” Ehiavhie stated.
With no objections from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Justice Kpochi dismissed the petition in a brief ruling.
The SDP was among six political parties that had initially challenged INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election. According to INEC’s results, the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes, defeating 17 other contenders, including his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes.
Other parties that also petitioned the tribunal included the PDP, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Accord Party (AP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).
In its now-withdrawn petition, the SDP had argued that the election violated key provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines. It alleged that INEC’s failure to electronically transmit polling unit results rendered the votes allocated to the APC invalid.
The party had urged the tribunal to declare Okpebholo’s victory null and void. However, with the case now officially withdrawn, the challenge from the SDP has come to an end.