Edo PDP slams tribunal, labels ruling travesty of justice
The Peoples Democratic Party has described the judgment of the Edo State governorship election petition tribunal as a travesty of justice.
The party stated that after receiving and studying the Certified True Copy of the judgment, it found the tribunal’s decision to be a blatant miscarriage of justice, which allegedly ignored overwhelming facts, twisted the law, and rewarded impunity.
These claims were contained in a statement by the state PDP Chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, in Abuja.
Aziegbemi said: “Having received and studied the Certified True Copy of the judgment, the petitioners are now even more convinced that the tribunal turned the law on its head to protect a rigged process.”
According to the party, the tribunal abandoned its constitutional duty to deliver justice and instead constituted itself as a “fourth respondent”, inventing technicalities to sidestep the clear evidence of electoral malpractice placed before it.
“We have studied the CTC of the judgment. This judgment, with due respect to the judges involved, is a travesty.
“However, we are not deterred. We are proceeding to the Court of Appeal with the facts, the law, and the will of the Edo people firmly on our side,” Aziegbemi added.
The PDP’s petition accused INEC of rigging the election in favour of the APC by failing to comply with its own guidelines and by collating manipulated results across the state.
According to the petition, the PDP governorship candidate in the 2024 Edo State election, Asue Ighodalo, scored the majority of lawful votes and should have been declared the winner.
The Special Adviser on Media to Ighodalo, Anthony Ehilebo, said, people did not grasp the gravity of what happened in Edo.
He said “Tap Initiative uncovered what was effectively an electoral coup. INEC printed a duplicate set of result sheets and used these fake documents to declare their preferred candidate.
“The irony is that the real results are still available to be viewed on INEC’s own IReV portal as we speak!
“Tap has reported this to the ICPC and called for the prosecution of the officials involved. INEC also failed to fill forms essential for guaranteeing the integrity of the elections — a responsibility the Supreme Court has said is a strict liability issue.
“That is what the tribunal has now endorsed. We are duty-bound to challenge this travesty at the appellate court.”
The statement also said Yiaga Africa, in its post-election statement, cited “serious lapses in the collation process,” while the Foundation for Investigative Journalism went even further, describing the election as having been “rigged for the APC by design.”
Despite the ruling, the PDP maintained that the mandate of the people remained with Ighodalo.
“Asue is coming. Just like the governors of Zamfara, Plateau, Osun, Kano, and Bayelsa who lost at the tribunal but reclaimed their mandates at the Supreme Court. We are confident that no tribunal — no matter how composed or compromised — can stop the will of the people,” the statement stressed.
