The Court of Appeal in Abuja has confirmed Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress as the duly elected Governor of Edo State.
The court gave its judgment on Thursday, May 29, 2025, and dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Asue Ighodalo, over the September 21, 2024 governorship election.
At the election, Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo who got 247,274 votes. The Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata, came third with 22,763 votes.
Following the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Okpebholo the winner, and he was sworn in on November 12, 2024, taking over from former PDP Governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Unhappy with the results, Ighodalo and his party went to the election tribunal to challenge the outcome. But in April 2025, a three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi ruled against him.
The tribunal said Ighodalo failed to provide strong evidence of irregularities or breakage of election rules. The judges noted that no polling unit officials or voters were brought as witnesses, which weakened his case.
Still hoping for a different outcome, Ighodalo went to the Court of Appeal. But on Thursday, the appellate court also dismissed his case, saying the lower tribunal was right in its decision.
Reacting to the judgment, the PDP said it disagreed with the court’s ruling and would head to the Supreme Court for further appeal.
“The verdict of the appellate court will be contested at the Supreme Court,” the party said in a brief statement.
As it stands, Monday Okpebholo remains the Governor of Edo State, while Ighodalo now has one more chance to challenge the result—at the highest court in the country.
