In a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the September 21, 2024 Edo governorship election, witnesses for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) provided testimonies on alleged electoral irregularities in three local government areas during a tribunal hearing on Tuesday.
The PDP, represented by its candidate Dr. Asue Ighodalo, is contesting the declaration made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that named Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the election winner.
During the session, Abiodun Owonikoko, the PDP’s legal representative, led witness Kennedy Osifo in presenting evidence. Osifo, who served as the PDP collation officer for Ikpoba Okha, submitted agents’ copies of election results from 76 polling units in Ward II. He claimed that a total of four distinct irregularities affected the voting process.
Osifo revealed that discrepancies became evident when comparing the agents’ results with the certified true copies of results from the BVAS accreditation report available on INEC’s IREV portal. He emphasized that these discrepancies were detailed in his witness statement on oath, which he asked the tribunal to formally consider in the proceedings.
When questioned during cross-examination, Osifo affirmed that his testimony stemmed solely from the documentation he provided rather than interactions with other party agents.
Further testimony came from Adebayo Ogedegbe, the PDP collation officer for Akoko-Edo, who alleged inconsistencies in the results from 45 polling units in that local government area. Ogedegbe contended that INEC had miscalculated scores in 41 of the units, asserting that there were also instances of overvoting in four additional units. He sought to present the agents’ results from these units to support his assertions.
In the Owan West local government area, Lucky Aroye brought forth evidence from nine units, claiming incidents of overvoting. Aroye remarked that sensitive materials had allegedly not been properly recorded in seven of the units and requested that his sworn statement be recognized as evidence.
When asked if he had been able to observe all units as a collation officer, Aroye conceded that the volume of units made this impracticable.
Responding to the testimonies, legal representatives for INEC, Governor Okpebholo, and the APC, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria Kalu Agabi, Onyechi Ikpeazu, and Ukala, challenged the admissibility of the submitted documents but indicated they would reserve their objections for later stages of the hearings.
Tribunal Chairman Justice Wilfred Kpochi ruled that the documents in question would be provisionally admitted into evidence. The proceedings have been adjourned until Wednesday for the continuation of the hearing.
