The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has fixed Wednesday, the 2nd of April, 2025, for Judgment, Naija News reports.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has the winner of the election held last year.

Okpebholo defeated Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP).

Recall that the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had reserved judgment in the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the declaration of Okpebholo as winner of the September 21, 2024 governorship election.

The PDP and Ighodalo are disputing the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging electoral irregularities, including over-voting, ballot non-serialization, incorrect collation, and computation errors.

During the course of the tribunal hearings, the petitioners called 19 witnesses and subpoenaed a Senior Technical Officer from INEC’s ICT department, who presented 154 BVAS machines to support claims of over-voting.

INEC, Okpebholo, and the APC are the first to third respondents respectively in the case marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024.

INEC did not call any witnesses to counter the petitioners’ claims. Okpebholo presented one witness, while the APC called four before closing their defense.

The three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi announced that judgment would be delivered at a later date to be communicated to all parties.

“A date for judgment will be communicated to the parties by the Secretary of the tribunal. The tribunal stands adjourned until then,” said Justice Kpochi.

Earlier, the petitioners’ lead counsel, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), formally adopted their final written address. INEC’s counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), urged the tribunal to dismiss the case, describing it as lacking in merit.

Agabi argued that all polling unit agents who testified had signed the result sheets and “could not distinguish between what they heard and what they observed.” He added that the number of polling units covered by the petitioners was too small to warrant nullification of the entire election.

“The petitioners have not pleaded any alternative results on the basis of which they can be declared winners. Their case is based on analyses carried out by hired consultants,” Agabi stated, describing their claims of non-compliance as weak and unsupported by credible evidence.

On behalf of the governor, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) said the APC candidate emerged victorious through valid votes. He challenged the petitioners’ position on the non-serialization of sensitive materials, clarifying that Form EC25B only requires the quantity of materials received and returned—not their serial numbers.

He added that while the petitioners alleged over-voting, none of the BVAS machines brought before the tribunal were actually opened for verification. “They failed to present the necessary documents to substantiate their claims,” Ikpeazu argued, calling the petition an “academic exercise.”

Also adopting its final address, APC’s counsel, Emmanuel Ukala, stated that the petitioners failed to provide enough witnesses to support their claims. He pointed out that only five polling unit agents were called out of over 4,000 polling units in the state, with no presiding officers summoned to testify.

He stressed the Supreme Court’s standard that allegations of non-compliance must be proven polling unit by polling unit, ward by ward, and local government by local government. “The petitioners did not show how the BVAS machines functioned, nor did they call enough witnesses,” Ukala added.

Responding, the petitioners’ counsel, Ken Morzi (SAN), clarified that their complaints were limited to 765 polling units, not the entire state. He argued that the case should be assessed holistically and not based solely on the percentage of polling units challenged.

Morzi said, “We concede that elections took place at the polling units, but our contention is how 25 votes transformed into 525 votes at the collation centres.”

He also addressed allegations of document dumping, asserting that all submitted documents were certified by INEC and tendered without objection. On the issue of alternative results, Morzi said all evidence before the tribunal was provided by the petitioners.

An elder in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David Parish, Quincy Ayodele, has denied claims that the former Pastor-in-charge of the parish, Idowu Iluyomade, rebelled against the church before starting his own.

Ayodele stated that she had expected that Iluyomade would be restored to his parish or another after he had served his three-month suspension handed to him by the church leadership.

According to Church Times, in a chat with Daddy Freeze posted on his YouTube Channel on Monday, the natural medicine practitioner said she was surprised and disappointed that Iluyomade was given a letter not to step into the church’s premises.

The World Health Organisation consultant said she was always going with Iluyomade to the headquarters of the RCCG in Ebute Meta for the three months that he served the punishment.

She said, “We were expecting that after the three months he would be restored to the City of David. but to our surprise, whatt we heard was that he was given a letter that he must not step into the City of David.”

Ayodele expressed concern about the action of the RCCG, saying, ‘Pastor Adeboye and Pastor Iluyomade were like father and son..They are so close..There is nothing Adeboye wanted that Iluyomade would not go out of his way to make available.”

While insisting that Iluyomade did not rebel against the church, she reiterated, ‘He was told not to enter City of David. Why they did that is only known to our daddy, the governing council and God. I cannot answer why. But we are curious.”

She said some elders in the church had to step in when it was clear that Iluyomade was stopped from entering the church.

According to Ayodele, the concerned elders wrote letters of appeal to the General Overseer of the Church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to plead with him not to take such drastic action against Iluyomade.

She said, “They wrote letters and signed their names on the letters to Pastor Adeboye. But there was no response from Baba Adeboye.”

Ayodele said the next step the Iluyomades took was to start going to Kings Court, another RCCG Parish that Iluyomade pioneered many years ago.

‘The pastor in the church welcomed them and accorded them the honour of the founding pastors, only to be told later that they should not be accommodated.

“Pastor Adeboye taught us that if one sheep is missing out of 100, Jesus would go after the lost sheep..I was now asking will he now allow Iluyomade to be lost to the world.”

Ayodele, who disclosed she has been in RCCG for about 32 years, said she had to be on the trail of Iluyomade to bring him back to the church.

She also denied insinuation that it was the former CEO of Access Bank, late Herbert Wigwe, who was the highest contributor to the building of the Trinity Towers of the City of David.

According to her, many people contributed to the building of the tower, and some gave as much as Wigwe gave. She said many were as committed to the church as Wigwe, citing examples of how people supported projects at the prompting of Iluyomade.

She said Iluyomade did a lot for the RCCG and Adeboye, wondering what could have led to the church’s action against Iluyomade.

She gave examples of free schools that Iluyomade built, how he fed the hungry every week, and how he impacted the larger society by using church funds.

Ayodele said many prominent Nigerians were contacted to beg Daddy GO and change his mind about the expulsion of Iluyomade, but to no avail.

“They went to beg him, and he said he (Iluyomade) was paying loan. But he has been paying loans without coming to ask for money from you. So, why don’t you leave him and let him finish paying the loan?

“He said it’s okay; he will let him come back. He did not. Other people went to beg him, rolling on the floor and asking for his forgiveness..He did not.” Ayodele said.

Asked if the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria intervened in the matter, she said, ‘Who will talk to him if God has not talked to him. My daddy hears from God. It is what God says that he tells us, and we believe him. He will say my daddy says’ and we believe him.”

Ayodele said Pastor Iluyomade never planned to start a church, adding that the people they helped abandoned them in their moment of trials.

She said. “He does not even know how to start a church. He was an Anglican before he joined RCCG. His father was a reverend. He had left Anglican for almost 32 years. If he goes back to Anglican, where is he going to start from?

“I can tell you that the people they helped abandoned them in their moment of trials. They were not even praying for him in the City of David that he left. That was what made me go to him. When I got to him, he was weeping, telling me that he was told not to step into the church.”

Ayodele said she was moved to tears when Pastor Adeboye insinuated during his visit to the City of David on Sunday that those who left the Church were demons and that devils built trinity towers.

She said, “I started wondering if this my daddy is talking. What is going on?”

The health practitioner said she did not follow Iluyomade when he started his church because she believed the matter could still be resolved and that she was mediating.

Ayodele said if she had the grace of meeting Pastor Adeboye, she would be him frantically and appeal to him to forgive Iluyomade.

The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has disclosed that the late Ayo Adebanjo played a pivotal role in the 2023 victory recorded by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in Lagos State.

He stated this on Monday while paying tribute to the late leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere.

Abure’s tribute was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, after he led a delegation of the Labour Party executives to the residence of the late elder statesman over the weekend.

Applauding Adebanjo for his effort, Abure insisted that the late politician deserved credit for his contribution to the electoral upset.

According to him, Adebanjo’s troubleshooting efforts not only engendered peace in the Labour Party but also propelled the party into achieving massive successes in the last general elections.

He said, “Recall that the Labour Party played a major role in the 2023 general elections. I can remember whenever a crisis came up, he (Adebanjo) would summon me to Lagos.

“We would discuss and reach amicable resolutions in those crises.

“Our strong performance in the last general elections can be credited to his several interventions. He navigated several of such cases, particularly in Lagos, and today, that state is one of the strongest bases of the party. I learnt a lot from Pa Adebanjo personally, that culture of resistance, defending what is right, defending democracy and the rule of law, I learnt it from him.

“I am happy that the struggle to enthrone democracy in Nigeria was achieved in his lifetime. Many of his contemporaries were not that lucky. He saw an unbroken democracy for close to 25 years, and he participated in it. We were able to identify and put together all our candidates from the presidential candidate down to the least position and the ruling oligarchy didn’t believe what they saw in the 2023 general elections.

“For the first time, we mobilised the youths of this country. For the first time, the youth of the country saw hope and they were living it. They envisioned themselves in it and we were able to achieve that change. Pa Adebanjo, as old as he was, led the struggle.”

Former Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has berated the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (PDP), Nyesom Wike, for revoking the Certificate of Occupancy of the party’s secretariat.

Naija News reports that recently, the FCT Minister, who is also a member of the PDP, took the bold step of revoking the land title of Wadata Plaza.

The government’s decision was due to the PDP’s failure to pay ground rent for the property. In addition, the title for the party’s unfinished national secretariat in the Central Area Business District of Abuja was also revoked.

Wike accused the party of failing to pay ₦7.6 million ground rent for its land title in the Central Area, despite being in power for many years and generating between ₦13 billion and ₦20 billion from the sale of forms.

Reacting in an interview with New telegraph, George said the decision of Wike to revoke the party’s land was a clear declaration of war.

He stated that Wike, who is like his political son, has crossed the redline with such act.

The Elder statesman also revealed how he initially joined the Wike-led G5 governors ahead of the 2023 presidential election but had to withdraw when the group was going against the PDP’s dictate.

He said: “Let me tell you something. When the crisis started in the PDP, they invited me as an elder to join the G5 governors and some other elders. I did but we fell out when we found that some of the things they are doing do not fall in line with the dictates of the party. And what Wike just did is completely unacceptable in any civilized situation.

“He has crossed the red line. Do you know why? During this same period of trying to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, he revoked the Certificate of Occupancy of our party’s secretariat. I want him to listen to me very carefully because he’s like my political son.

“It’s like you come from your community, and from that community, your home, your home village was there. Suddenly, you now became the local government chairman of that community.

“And the first exercise you did officially is to go revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of your father’s house, the house that produced you and the house where you got all kinds of things. What is the amount of money we owe, N7.2 million?

“It would have been more honourable if he put his hand in his pocket, and said, yes, you owe this, but I’m going to pay it because I am a thoroughbred son of the soil. I am a child of that house. It is that house that gave him the ticket to be chairman of the local government, made him the chief of staff to the governor, made him a minister, and became governor for eight years. Is that the way to say thank you?”

Asked if Wike has disowned his party with his actions and through what he has done, George responded in the affirmative.

The PDP Chieftain stated that Wike has declared and open war and party chieftains would be seen as irresponsible leaders and elders if they don’t take action.

He said: “Absolutely! What else? That’s what I said. As a general, I’m saying he has crossed the red line. Once you cross the red line, what are you looking for? The party has to met. We have to meet; the leaders and members of the Board of Trustees. We own the party in trust for members of the party.

“We own the assets and the liabilities of the party for the good of our people. If a young man has done what he did to say they should revoke the secretariat of our party, he has crossed the red line.

“He has declared an open war. And it’s such a shame. We would be seen as being irresponsible as leaders and elders if we don’t take action. Unfortunately, like I said, when those people started the disciplinary committee headed by Chief Tom Ikimi, I looked at the membership. Ikimi, yes, he’s on Atiku’s side.

“The secretary of that same committee is on Atiku’s side and they said I should come and be a member. I said, no, I cannot. First of all, Ikimi met me in this party.

“So, I cannot serve in that committee. Secondly, the way the thing was structured was warped. Where do you start from? So, I’m pleading with our people, we should go back. Fortunately, by October or November this year, we are going to have a convention.”