Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Samson Osagie, on Friday, said the People Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, failed to back their allegations with concrete evidence before the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal.
On Wednesday, the Tribunal led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the petition of the PDP and Ighodalo for their inability to prove the allegation of over-voting, affirming that that Governor Monday Okpebholo scored the highest number of valid votes in the election.
The tribunal faulted how the petitioners proved their evidence in relation to the allegations brought before it.
Speaking at the 10th-year remembrance anniversary of his late father, Pa Samson Imarhiagbe-Ogbewe, in Urhokuosa, in the Uhunmwode local government area of Edo State, the CJ said that it is not enough for the petitioner to throw tantrums here and there, all for the sake of challenging the winner.
He said the victory of Okpebholo at the tribunal was a reaffirmation of practical governance as currently being witnessed with the flag off of massive projects across the state.
Osagie said, “The tribunal judgement in favour of the APC and Governor Monday Okpebholo was merely stating the obvious. We know that Okpebholo won the election on September 21st, 2024.
“Therefore, the judgment could not have been otherwise as the tribunal stated that there was not concrete evidence of the allegation of malpractices by those who petitioned.
“It is not enough to allege, it is not enough to throw tantrums, it is not enough to claim victory, but you must demonstrate that you won. This, the PDP and its candidate failed to do. How do you defend and prosecute an election petition when you did not call any eyewitness in any part of the state? You can’t go and forge papers and dump them in the court and ask the court to start reading and all that.
“If the courts were to start looking at the documents and opening the BVAS studying it, they will probably need to go to Harvard and study how to operate the machines. It was the duty of the petitioner to lead the tribunal to understand what they mean using the equipment they brought to court.”
He further noted that the governor is more determined in delivering people-oriented projects, adding that the Okpebholo’s administration in Edo State is God-ordained.
On his late father’s tenth year anniversary, Osagie thanked all those who came and stood by the family over the years and noted that the family would continue to honour and imbibe their late father’s legacy of hard work.
The occasion was attended by top APC stalwarts, including former a APC governorship aspirant, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a former Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, Osareitin Edosomwan, Edo Commissioner for Finance, and Emmanuel Okoebo, among other personalities.