Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday, declined to comment on the ongoing hearing of the Peoples Democratic Party’s petition at the Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.
Oshiomhole, who represents the Edo North Senatorial District, was present at the tribunal but refrained from making any remarks on the proceedings while responding to questions from journalists.
“You know you don’t comment on matters in court. I come to watch, to observe the proceedings and I am satisfied that the proceedings are going well.
“It is not for me to do any evaluation; that is the prerogative and absolute responsibility of the tribunal.
“Well, I cannot comment on it,” he simply stated.
Meanwhile, the hearing of the petition filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, continued with the presentation of their 16th witness.
The witness, Haruna Ibrahim, informed the three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi that he served as a polling unit agent during the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.
He testified that while the election was generally conducted in line with the process, he noticed irregularities such as over-voting and immediately reported them to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission at the polling unit.
Ibrahim took the witness stand shortly after Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, arrived at the tribunal to show support for Governor Monday Okpebholo.
Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress was declared the winner of the governorship election by INEC.
Also present at the tribunal was the immediate past Deputy Governor of Edo, Philip Shaibu, who recently defected from the PDP to the APC.
The tribunal had, on Thursday, admitted in evidence 148 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines used during the disputed election.
The electronic devices were presented by Anthony Itodo, a Senior Technical Officer in INEC’s ICT Department, and were admitted as evidence by the panel.
The PDP and its candidate had subpoenaed INEC to produce the BVAS machines used in 133 polling units where the election results are being contested.
According to INEC’s official declaration, Okpebholo of the APC won the election with a total of 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Ighodalo of the PDP, who secured 247,655 votes.
However, dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and Ighodalo filed a petition at the tribunal, seeking to nullify INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner.
The petitioners argued that the election was invalid due to alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
