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 case was struck out after the party decided to withdraw its petition.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, SDP’s legal representative, Jackson Ehiavhie, informed the tribunal that his client was no longer interested in pursuing the matter.
He further stated that the withdrawal was based on directives from the party’s national leadership.
Legal representatives of the respondents—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress (APC)—did not oppose the withdrawal.
Following this development, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, who chairs the three-member tribunal, ruled that the petition be dismissed in line with the petitioner’s request.
The SDP was one of six political parties that had approached the tribunal, seeking to overturn INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election.
INEC had announced that the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes to emerge victorious, defeating 17 other candidates, including his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 247,274 votes.
Apart from the PDP and its candidate, other parties that have challenged the election outcome include the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Accord Party (AP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).
