Supreme Court Affirms Monday Okpebholo as Edo State Governor

On Thursday, July 10, 2025, Nigeria’s Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgment affirming Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected Governor of Edo State. The apex court dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, describing the petition as lacking merit and upholding the decisions of the lower courts that had previously validated Okpebholo’s election victory in the September 21, 2024 governorship poll.


The five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba Lawal, ruled that the appellants failed to provide credible and sufficient evidence to prove any substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act or that Okpebholo did not win the election with lawful votes. Justice Garba emphasized that the appeal did not demonstrate any miscarriage of justice in the judgments of both the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had earlier affirmed Okpebholo’s victory.

The legal dispute originated when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Okpebholo the winner of the 2024 Edo governorship election. Dissatisfied with the outcome, Ighodalo and the PDP challenged the result at the Election Petition Tribunal and subsequently at the Court of Appeal, but both courts upheld Okpebholo’s election. Persisting in the legal battle, Ighodalo escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the prior rulings and declare himself the rightful winner.

During the Supreme Court proceedings, the PDP’s counsel, Ken Mozia (SAN), argued that the election was marred by irregularities and that Ighodalo had secured the majority of lawful votes. However, the apex court found these claims unsubstantiated and dismissed the appeal in its entirety. The court’s ruling effectively ends the protracted litigation over the Edo governorship election, confirming Monday Okpebholo’s mandate to govern the state.

This final judgment by the Supreme Court consolidates the earlier rulings and provides legal clarity on the 2024 Edo State governorship election, reinforcing the electoral process’s integrity as conducted by INEC and affirming the authority of the elected governor to serve his term.

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