Appeal court affirms Obaseki as Edo governor

The court of appeal sitting in Benin has upheld the victory of Godwin Obaseki in the 2020 Edo state governorship election.

On March 29, the election petitions tribunal dismissed all the petitions which challenged Obaseki’s victory.

Five political parties had filed petitions seeking a nullification of Obaseki’s election.

Some of the petitions focused on the first degree certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the governor, while the Action Alliance and the Action Peoples Party said they were unlawfully excluded from the poll.

Dissatisfied, the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and its governorship candidate, Iboi Lucky went further to the court of appeal to challenge the tribunal’s verdict.

Delivering judgment in the appeal marked CA/B/EPT/GOV/01 & 1A/2021 Action Democratic Party & Anor v. INEC & 2Ors, the appellate court on Wednesday held that Obaseki did not forge the certificates with which he contested the election.

The court, therefore, dismissed the appeal filed by the ADP and its candidate.

In another case, marked /B/EPT/GOV/02/2021 Action Peoples Party (APP) Vs Godwin N. Obaseki & 2Ors, the court in a unanimous decision, upheld the judgment of the tribunal and dismissed the appeal with cost assessed at N600,000 each on two different counts.

The governor won all the eight issues for determination in the appeal.

M. A. Owoade who led the panel of justices said the inclusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, as respondents in the petition, was a ploy by Ize-Iyamu to fight his case through another petitioner.