Today, the Court of Appeal, Abuja division has resumed proceedings in the appeal filed by the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, signaling that judgement would be delivered soonest.

After the proceedings today, the appellate court will announce that judgement is reserved and parties would be communicated, and that would be after parties adopt their written addresses for and against the appeal.

 

Recall that the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal had affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Edo state.

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In the proceedings today, counsel to the parties will adopt their written addresses, and I know for certainty that INEC, APC and Okpebholo’s representatives will pray the court to dismiss Ighodalo’s appeal for lacking in merit.

Ighodalo’s case will likely suffer in the court of appeal due to inconsistencies in the testimonies of his witnesses at the trial court.

Also, the evidence of the petitioners or the appellants were grossly insufficient and as such the case could be dismissed.

 

Recall that out of the 19 witnesses called by the petitioners, there was no single polling unit agent among them. The tribunal ruled that all Ighodalo’s witnesses were “hearsay witnesses”. The appeal court may not be able to help or remedy Ighodalo’s case.

Also, Ighodalo and the PDP failed to prove the allegation of over voting in their petition at the tribunal, the Appeal Court would not also be able to amend their case as fresh evidence are also not allowed.

 

Since Ighodalo and the PDP failed to prove allegation of over-voting, the Appeal court is most likely to dismiss the appeal for being incompetent and affirm the judgement of the tribunal which upheld the election of Okpebholo.

Although Ighodalo and his loyalists are busy claiming victory of the election on social media and insisting that they are the winners, they want the appeal court to set aside the judgement of the tribunal and declare Ighodalo as the governor but this is not the law and reality.

 

They say, however, erroneously, that the ruling of the tribunal was a miscarriage of justice but they refused to own up that they lack the requisite evidence to prove the case. Ighodalo’s petition was bereft of substance and it was accordingly dismissed.

The panel of judges at the tribunal held in a unanimous decision that all the Witnesses’ evidence filed before it, by Ighodalo and PDP were incompetent and full of inconsistencies.

 

Now, will Ighodalo and the PDP approach the Supreme Court after suffering another bloody nose at the Court of Appeal? Or where will Ighodalo run to after another round of defeat at the Supreme Court?

Question of time.

 

John Mayaki