Category: Politics

    “There is nothing else that gladdens the hearts of voters and the public, and also makes elected public happy, like the tangible development and peaceful coexistence His Excellency, Senator Monday, had brought to Edo State, within a year he had been elected and sworn in as her governor. With the high speed he is dishing out democracy deliverables to the people, he would at the end of the day, engrave his name in gold, as the best-performing governor, since the creation of the state in 1991”. Said, Mr. Goddy Francis Okoyo; in his congratulatory message “of a-job-well-done” to the governor, on the activities marking his one year stay in office. It was culled from a statement he made available to journalists in Benin City, the state capital. Mr. Okoyo, a Canada-based Chartered Accountant and Behavioural Scientist, emphasized that the numerous solid projects he had attracted to the state, in the various aspects of governance, spreading uniformly across the three senatorial districts, consisting the18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, showed that Governor Okpebholo is, indeed, a promise keeper, for beginning to fulfil his electioneering pledges to the people. He also used the opportunity to call on leaders and other members of the state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opponent political parties and the populace, to join hands with the governor, as constituted stakeholders, to bring the best of development and peace to the state, postulating further that “there cannot be a viable state without peaceful citizenry conducts and joint-meaningful development”. Mr. Okoyo, more known as GFO, his acronym, is a longstanding member of the APC from Ugboha Ward of Esan South East LGA of the state, who had served as Director of Diaspora Affairs in the state’s 2024 Election Campaign Council that helped to elect the governor, as well as he served on the Diaspora sub-committee that assisted the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

By Igbotako Nowinta The founder and president of Voice of God Liberation Ministry, (VGLM), Pastor Peter Egbaelu, has urged President Bola Tinubu, to urgently consider the demands being made by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Pastor Egbaelu made the passionate call on Sunday October 26th, 2025, in Agbor, Delta State, during a chat with this reporter, in his office. The clergyman, a mechanical engineer by training, said the recent warning strike embarked upon by members of ASUU, was really unfortunate and regrettable. He was worried that the welfare of lecturers in Nigeria was nothing to write home about, even as facilities on most campuses are inadequate. According to the young energetic Pastor: “It is sad to note that the educational system in Nigeria is coroding alarmingly, as a result of lack of proper funding by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Our universities are not standing excellently with what is obtainable in civilized climes. The condition of Nigerian students are even more pathetic as sophisticated equipments and infrastructural facilities are non – existence”. The visibly concerned Pastor added thus :”Even as l have been praying fervently on this matter, l hereby use this medium to appeal to Mr. President to urgently have a positive attitude towards ASUU demands in the name of Nigerian students, and in the overall interest of tertiary educational development in Nigeria”. It will be recalled that ASUU embarked on a two-week warning strike in Nigeria recently due to several unresolved issues with the Federal Government. The main reasons include: Unconcluded Renegotiation of 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement: The union is pushing for the completion of this agreement, which covers academics’ conditions of service and salary structure; ASUU is demanding the release of three and a half months’ withheld salaries. The union wants improved funding for universities. ASUU is seeking revitalization of universities to improve infrastructure and resources. The union is pushing for payment of 25-35% salary arrears and promotion arrears spanning over four years. ASUU wants the release of cooperative contributions and union check-off dues. The strike was suspended after the Senate intervened, and ASUU has given the government a one-month window to address these issues. If the government fails to meet these demands, ASUU may resume the strike without further notice. The Voice of God liberation Ministry, which is situated on 3 Sakponba Road Alihame , Agbor, Delta State Nigeria, is a fast growing cum divine inspirational driven assembly of Christian faithfuls. It holds the following impactful weekly church activities: Sunday: Liberation Service 8-10 am; Wednesday: Hour of Transformation 5-6pm, with these phone numbers: 09017707280 ,0814900293. The Ministry has scheduled a programme titled: “A Night of Praise and Drama”, in conjunction with the Mandate Movement Outreach, for Friday, 7th November November, 2025, in Agbor.

  “The upsurge in insecurity and safety concerns for lives and properties, has been of a topmost challenge in Edo State, like it is in other states of the federation. Therefore, you must strive hard to ensure that the state is secured from the waves of kidnapping, cultism, land grabbing and other crimes, which His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the state governor, is determined to wipe out, in the moves to usher in peace and rapid development” This was contained in a congratulatory message sent to Hon Festus Odianosen Ebea, the newly-appointed Commissioner for Public Security and Safety, shortly after he was cleared for the position by the state’s House of Assembly and the portfolio assigned by Governor Okpebholo. The message was sent via a press statement made available to journalists by Mr. Goddy Francis Okoyo, a Canada-based Chartered Accountant and Behavioural Scientist, who is also a strong member of the state’s chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Okoyo, who hails from Ugboha, in Esan South East local government area (LGA) of the state, further urged Hon Ebea, to tap into the abundant security equipment and other logistics that have been provided by the state government, to rid the state of criminalities, adding that he should effectively bring together all the security outfits, local communities and the public, in his mission which must not fail. “Everywhere in the world, security and safety matters are of top priority, as it guarantees a free human enterprise”, reiterated Okoyo, a frontline co-ordinator of the diaspora affairs of the Edo and national APC. Okoyo, more known for his GFO acronym, also called on the various security outfits, traditional rulers, youths, local communities and the general public, to join hands with Hon Ebea to carry out his assigned duties, maintaining that security and safety of lives and properties, is the duty of all. Hon Ebea, a trained lawyer and former Deputy Speaker state’s House of Assembly, who is from Esan South LGA, was amongst other commissioner appointees, with his Ministry of Public Security and Safety, a new creation by the governor.

BY TONY ERHA ‘Okuo imose”, “no fight is attractive” – all fight is ugly, according to the Edo people. If a fight doesn’t pluck the teeth it would drip the noise of red blood. That is why pundits were apprehensive and had to caution Dangote Refinery and the Petrol and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to a sound reasoning, over the sack of 800 of its workers by Dangote, which was followed by a strike action that was later called-off. The fisticuff was intensified as the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers of Nigeria (NUPENG), joined the spat by supporting PENGASSAN. Like the American freestyle wrestling, where partakers fight with anything they lay their hands upon, a melee, a-free-for-all in which no one seems to know the real opponents. The fallout of the Dangote and PENGASSAN fight has unsettled Nigerians. The Benins would say “ama re fi ekpa arie gb’ ihue”; “the fisticuffs hadn’t started when the nose bled blood”. For the hapless consumer public is still at the mercy of the raging feud after the settlement. Indeed, the grass suffered where two elephants fought dirty. Buyers of Dangote products are still groaning under a surge of cooking gas price, from about N1,000 to N3,200 per kg. Dangote Refinery’s kingpin, Aliko Dangote, who has huge investment monies flowing in his veins, vowed to a showdown with the PENGASSAN and NUPENG. Do not take my calmness for cowardice; Aliko seemed to have said, flinging his hat into the ring. “…There is no fight I have never won…” he boasted, whereas he actually won several and lost some, in the monopoly business with fellow competitors. It was a rivalry fight between the Elephant and the Pit, when the Elephant arrogates to being the largest land animal; and the Pit boastful he is the hugest depth in the ground. The Pit threatens to swallow the Elephant and the Elephant determined to cover up the Pit. Finally on the encounter, the Pit that swallows the Elephant wouldn’t swallow more animals, nor will the Elephant live to swallow another pit. In wrestling and boxing of exchange of punches and slams, America’s loquacious president and all-time wrestling and boxing promoter, Donald Trump, is well-known. One of the memorable grim and tricky fights of the tempest Trump was when he dragged his fellow promoter from the ringside to the dais, and beckoned on others to instantly shave his head, to the wild delight of wrestling fans across the globe. Realising that he had truly missed out from his rasmatazz in promoting competitive boxing and wrestling, an intoxicating Trump had recently arranged for a cage-wrestling showdown to mark one of his official events in a US presidential venue. When a lion king thirsts for the blood and flesh of prey, as he no longer go hunting, he claws to his own tongue to a consolatory leak of his own blood to quench his lust for blood. Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, Nigeria’s former labour leader and ex-governor of Edo State, was dragged into the fight with his comment that PEGASSAN erred declaring a strike action without a second thought for the majority poor, who were bound to suffer the strike’s consequences. PENGASSAN and NUPENG thereby saw Oshiomhole as entering the fight arena as in ‘Enter the Dragon’, an epic film in which Chuck Norris; a famous kickboxer sorted it out with Bruce Lee, the late iconic martial artiste. It was somewhat absurd for NUPENG to point menacingly at Oshiomhole, declaring him a ‘persona non grata’ and placed a ban on him from all NUPENG’s activities, whereas the oil union was only one amongst the over 41 affiliate unions that constituted his command of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), with him as its two term president. Now, Oshiomhole seems better placed having resumed his pro-people stand, with his current valuable contributions to it in the Senate’s chamber. But NUPENG is irritated that one of their own could attempt to stop the mongoose from killing the snakes that had all along been killed for gains and superiority sakes. Do the organised labour trust Oshiomhole, vice versa? It’s likened to the crusading music of the late musician Joseph Osayomore; “Who know man naim dey kill man” (one’s enemy is his friend). Although Oshiomhole left active labour activism about two decades ago, he’s probably the same ‘adamant Adams’ who knows the strength and pitfalls of regimental unionism, where men in khaki are soldier ants. Why will NUPENG, led by William Akporeha, its president, be so unfair banning their former leader from speaking in their public fora, knowing that speaking in the function of the organized labour was the most effective pills he takes to get well? Oshiomhole may not be a ringside promoter to Dangote and his mercantile, in the fight-to-finish with the PENGASSAN and NUPENG warlords, as he was accused of, nor for a ravaging workers union, than for a weary public that is a usual butt of undue strikes by insensitive workers’ and endless monopoly by businesses. A suspicious PENGASSAN and NUPENG, even though are rightly condemned for anti-people stand, by their inept strike, might have made a valid point that leaders, whose words sometimes (if not often) conflict with the good examples they preach, set the bad example for others to follow. In a game of survival, like the odd one currently faced by the Super Eagles, in their bid to qualify for the world cup, a Gernot Roy, Nigeria’s former coach, who was booted out, and now leading the national team of the Republic of Benin, would open Nigeria’s football secrets to his newest side, as NUPENG also think their leaders are to Dangote. And is an irony that Gernot Roy is a decider of the fate of Nigeria, in the Super Eagles final match with the Benin team for the world cup carnival. Like Trump, Oshiomhole is ‘very slippery’ as he has in common a showmanship, raw courage and the resilience of a marathoner.

Edo State Government and its governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, have been given the tips and encouragement to rapidly develop Edo State, in order to fully address the poor state of education, infrastructure and social amenities being experienced in the state. The hints were made by members of the Annunciation Catholic College Irrua Old Boys Association (ACCIOBA), through “Uduota” (Heart of the Matter), a popular live television discussion programme, anchored in pidgin English by the Independent Television, and hosted by Emma Akpololohor. Speaking during the programme, ACCIOBA’s Global President, Dr. Joseph Ohens, with Prof Omeimen Ujuanbi and Engr. Austin Omobhude, members of the association, applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent call on Nigerians in the diaspora to come home with direct investments, which he further said would helped to stabilise the country’s ailing economy. Dr. Ohens, an adjuntant law professor, who is based in the United States, opined that the huge remittances to the country are actually huge and almost tally with the county’s major earnings from petroleum, urging Governor Okpebholo to cash in on the opportunities and readiness of the Edo diasporans, to better education, infrastructure, economy and other sectors of the state. He also advised that the success recorded by ACCIOBA, with its reconstruction and renovation work at ACC, Irrua, he was confident that the state could be bettered, if it takes after the synergy between ACCIOBA’s members at home and in the diaspora. Prof Omeimen Ujuanbi of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, who was on the ground to carry out the project, hailed the ACCIOBA diaspora members, for committing over eighty percentage of the N3 billion naira put into the school project. He further advised that it was transparency and commitment Edo State Government, Edo diaporans and others need to exhibit, in order for such tripatite collaboration to work it out. Engr. Austin Omobhude, a Canada-based mechanical engineer and business executive, who was said to be the highest benefactor in the ACC project, regretted that since twenty five years ago, when ex-President Obasanjo set up the national diaspora body, nothing meaningful had been done to achieve its set-objectives. His advise was that Edo State Government could do the ideal thing by nominating key Edo diasporans and others, in the same manner Dr. Ohens and some other ACCIOBA’s diaspora and home-based members had done a feasibility study and set up a practical committee that helped to actualise the project. ACC, Irrua, the first private secondary school in Esan land that was established in 1955, became a cynosure of eyes and a benchmark for alma maters to give back to reposition education in the state, with a state-of-art donated facilities and employment of teachers and other staff.

The Edo State House of Assembly Service Commission, led by Hon. Ezehi Magnus Igbas, recently conducted a promotion interview for deserving staff who met the promotion criteria. Recall that during the mid-term thanksgiving of the 8th Assembly on June 16, 2025, Speaker Rt. Hon. Blessing Sheriff Agbebaku, in the presence of State Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo, promised to improve staff welfare and release promotions accordingly. Notably, this 8th Assembly had earlier approved the payment of Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS) with full autonomy for state assemblies, with Edo State being among the leading states to implement this. According  to a press statement signed by  Mr Paul  Odiahi,  public relations officer to the house, “staff productivity and commitment have reached a crescendo. Hon. Ezehi M.D. Igbas, a member of the 6th Assembly and current Chairman of the House of Assembly Service Commission, stated that “he and his team came to rebrand the commission, refine its processes, and enhance staff welfare.”

  …Okpebholo said nothing that Obi hasn’t done before By Sebastine Ebhuomhan Sunday, 20th July, 2025. Abuja. Last week, precisely on Friday, 18th July, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) organised a political rally to receive the only serving federal lawmaker of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State who dumped the party in support of the calm and focussed administration of the state governor. Speaking at the rally, Governor Monday Okpebholo spared no jabs that are often part of such high-tempo political events. Notably, he issued a very important security advisory to the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and ex-governor of Anambra State, Dr. Peter Obi, concerning Obi’s regular visits to Edo State for socio-political activities, which most recent one left a tragic trail. As all Nigerians know by now, Edo State people credibly voted, love and support Okpebholo, the immediate past elected lawmaker of Edo Central District at the Senate of the Federal Republic and his administration because he is a man of peace and progress. As a law-abiding citizen with simple and humble background, the governor does not talk much, does not threaten anybody, but loves hard, always honest to a fault, believes mostly in action, and never gets tired of galvanising people, policies and programmes for the governance and development of Edo State since he assumed power. In eight months, he has raised the bar of governance so high that it now looks like he has completed eight years already. Senator Okpebholo’s positive economic, social, infrastructural, workforce and political strides in a short time, especially his forthright, determined and noiseless result-oriented response to the parlous security (cultism and kidnapping) challenges the PDP-elected ex-governor Godwin Obaseki created for him before sneaking into exile abroad as well as his growing popularity from his determination to make Edo State the Heartbeat of national political consciousness convinced the PDP’s only elected federal lawmaker in Edo State representing Esan Central/Esan West/Igueben Federal Constituency of the House of Representatives, Right Honourable Marcus Onobun, to decamp and boost the APC’s chances in next month’s bye-election of the senatorial district likely to condemn the PDP to another painful defeat. In a letter, Onobun described his resignation as a “principled stand” taken in agreement with his constituents “to pursue a more effective pathway toward development, unity, and good governance” practised by the state administration Okpebholo leads. Obi, the leader of the socio-political pressure group, Obidients, visited Edo State on 7th July, 2025 in continuation of his ethnic, religious and socio-political activities. He neither informed, acknowledged nor paid any courtesy to the governor of the state before, during, and after the visit. He donated the sum of N15 million to the St. Philomena Hospital School of Nursing Sciences for the completion of school projects. The donation spiked tragic violence after his departure. “The man that says he has no ‘shishi’, I am sending a direct message to him. There is a new Sheriff in town. He cannot come to Edo without telling me because his security will never be guaranteed. Whatever happens to him when he is in Edo State, he will take it. I am serious about it. “He came the other day and donated N15 million. The person who says he has no ‘shishi’ but has N15 million to donate to people. Where did he get N15 million to donate to people? By the time he left, there was crisis. Three people died in Benin. So, for that reason, tell Obi, he should not come to Edo without telling me,” Governor Okpebholo stated in clear Pidgin mixed with good English addressing the grain of crowd at the rally. To the promoters of All Democratic Alliance (ADA), who have adopted the All Democratic Congress (ADC) as the vehicle for aspirants desperately seeking to truncate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government and hijack power in 2027, Okpebholo accused some of the leaders who have held high public offices in the past of failing to build roads to their villages, many of them deep-rooted in corruption, mismanagement of the national economy, shady sale of national assets, and others of ushering Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers and insecurity into the country. He challenged their moral justification to coalesce against Tinubu. Obi is a promoter of the coalition. “Some of them stole railway funds. Some were Senate Presidents for years and could not build roads to their villages. Some sold off Nigeria’s assets and even ushered in Boko Haram and kidnappers. “These same people now want to form new parties. Today SDP; tomorrow ADC; next ADA. We do not need insecurity merchants,” Okpebholo remarked. He highlighted Onobun’s entry into the APC as a final nail in PDP’s casket in Edo State. He declared with the support of Acting Deputy State APC Chairman, Sylvester Aigboboh, that the party was firmly in control of the political direction of Edo State without virile opposition. He reiterated that President Tinubu would definitely get 2.5 million votes in the 2027 presidential election in Edo State, an off-hand promise confidently rooted in the governor and government’s huge popularity and acceptance. Instead of appreciation, Okpebholo’s advisory to Obi has become the subject of attacks from supporters of the unsettled Anambra politician, remnants of the self-exiled Obaseki faction, and secret political party wings masquerading as civil society organisations (CSOs). From Obi’s fellow coalition leaders to his Obidient followers to the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) to his fanatic Catholic priests: the reactions have been sheer sensational, misunderstood and controversial; needless furore and hullabaloo. Different interpretations have been wrongly ascribed to the advisory. Some critics said Okpebholo warned Obi while others said Okpebholo threatened him. These are very wild, wrong and uncharitable interpretations of a simple advisory for an important personality meant to protect him whenever he visits. While he understandably spoke with a heavy heart from the death of residents, an analysis of the advisory shows that it is in order. Obi might have visited Edo State for a philanthropic cause as he

  Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen , the director general of ASUE IGHODALO’S CAMPAIGN ORGANISATION in the last Edo state governorship election, has resigned from the PDP. The former PDP leader’s resignation letter was acknowledged by his Ward Chairman, Andrew Esemuede, Thursday 17 July, 2025. “This is a painstaking decision for me, as the PDP has played a vital role in my political journey and personal development; for this, I remain deeply grateful and will always cherish the platform the Party provided me”. Iduoriyekemwen’s resignation is one of several resignations that has been witnessed recently, as members of the Party continue to resign from the PDP. The Edo South leader hails from Ward 5, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

  _Says Adesina is a part and parsue of a story of wicked deception A prominent Nigerian social critic, pro-democracy and human rights advocate, Comrade Igbotako Nowinta, has descended heavily on Femi Adesina, former aide to the late General Muhammadu Buhari, for defending his frequent medical trips to United Kingdom. According to Nowinta,  Femi Adesina Cannot Defend A Predator Who Failed To Build First Class Hospitals In Nigeria”, which he gave to journalists in Abuja, on Wednesday, July 16th, 2025. Comrade Nowinta, an international conflict resolution expert cum Executive Director, Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre (NGGRC), said Femi Adesina has demonstrated that he is a “part and parsue of the story of wicked deception which the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration stood for; a self centred, deceitful and treacherous character, who served a despot to the tilt for eight years” Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, July 15th, 2025, Adesina defended Buhari’s frequent medical trips to the United Kingdom while in office, insisting they were a matter of survival, not luxury. Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, says the late Nigerian leader might not have survived his health battles if he had depended solely on the Nigerian healthcare system. “We at the Nigerian Good Governance Research Centre (NGGC), are strongly dissatisfied with Femi Adesina’s insultive and seething stance about the frequent medical jamboree which the late ex – President under took to the United Kingdom while alive” “A man whose attitudes represent a cocktail of lethal toxins, who used his eight years romance with Muhammad Buhari to help himself with a chunk of our commonwealth should never be taken seriously. General Muhammadu Buhari had the greatest opportunity to build first class medical facilities in Nigeria, but he failed to do so, after he even promised to do so, during his 2015 electioneering campaigns for the presidency of Nigeria” “Why would an hungry beneficiary of a monster of cruelty not defend his paid master; a part and parsue of the story of wicked deception which the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration stood for ; a self centred, deceitful and treacherous character, who served a despot to the tilt for eight years? “When Buhari started his medical trips to the United Kingdom, he would have equally used his presidential powers to influence the building of first class medical facilities across our country, but instead he prioritized his survival and personal safety far above about 200 million Nigerian people, while the hospitals in Nigeria became mere consulting clinics” “For Femi Adesina to have stayed gleefully with an ex- president who laid a blanket of horror and terror against Nigerian people; a symbol of ruination for the oppressed whose legacy is imprisonement of future generations of Nigerians, speaks volumes about his person. Nigerian masses will never forget that once upon a time a Muhammadu Buhari inflicted unimaginable torture”. “We will never forget that Muhammadu Buhari represents a sickening example of unthinkable terror on our psyche; instead of him to drastically improved on our health facilities he led a sick regime where impunity and kleptomania thrived uncontrollably; a government mired by poor financial decision making; a commander – in – chief who looked the other way, while thousands of Nigerians were killed in cold blood. This was the man Femi Adesina dared to defend?” “Now that millions of Nigerians are trying to assuage tensions and move on with their battered lives, even under another despotic civilian regime under President Bola Tinubu, a Femi Adesina is rubbing salt on the injuries perfectly initiated by Muhammadu Buhari. Come 2027, we urge patriotic Nigerians to open their eyes; never to fall easy prey to another predator like Muhammadu Buhari, who consciously failed to build first class health care system in Nigeria”.

…Akpakomiza nails Ighodalo the 4th and final time …Edo people, APC, Governor, urge total support …Victory keeps PDP in permanent opposition status By Sebastine Ebhuomhan     Thursday, 10th July, 2025. Abuja. The Supreme Court, Nigeria’s apex court of jurisdiction and final appellate court of adjudication, today unanimously affirmed the free, fair, peaceful, credible and populist election of the executive governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In a landmark judgment unanimously endorsed by all the five-member panel of the Supreme Court, which lead the Honourable Justice Mohammed Garba Lawal, JSC, delivered without any dissent from the three members on the seat, Senator Okpebholo, the distinguished former lawmaker of Esan People, the Edo Central Senatorial District, at Nigeria’s red chamber, completed the humiliating cycle of annihilation of his challenger and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Asuerinme Akintunde Ighodalo. The affirmation of the venerable Supreme Court in the appeal: SC/CV/536/2025, marked the fourth consecutive victory of Okpebholo against the appellant, Dr. Ighodalo, and his party, the PDP, a final defeat that relegated the party into a permanent opposition status in Edo politics for the next four and more years. The two-hour Supreme Court judgment began at exactly 9.01am under a tight security that stretched from the city into the venue. It ended at 11.03am. Security agents stopped and turned back hundreds of people from accessing the court. Ken Mozia, SAN, led for the appellant, Ighodalo. Kanu Agabi, SAN, represented the 1st respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Chief Offiong E. Offiong, SAN, represented the 2nd respondent, Governor Okpebholo while J. O. Asoluka, SAN, represented the 3rd respondent, the APC. Justice Lawal began by reiterating the points of each party after briefly admonishing all the lawyers on the importance of looking responsible in clean and complete court regalia before an announcement that two members of the panel who are in agreement with the judgment were unavoidably absent today. According to him, the petitioner formulated five (5) points of disagreement with the judgments of the lower courts, for which reason he wants the court to set aside the victory and declare him as the winner. Each of the respondents also formulated 5 points each, though slightly different from each other. The points relate to: Non-compliance, competence and validity, over-voting, BVAS, and relief. In the unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court held that it sees no compelling reason to set aside the judgments of the lower court. The court also held that Ighodalo did not prove his allegations of non-compliance, over-voting, and invalidity. It therefore resolved Issue One in favour of the respondents; Issue Two in favour of the appellant; and Issues Three, Four and Five in favour of the respondents. Related issues such as cross-appeal validity and the tendering of evidence from the bar were also resolved favourably. “The appellant did not satisfactorily discharge the burden of proof required by law. The appeal is dismissed and the judgment of the court below in respect of issues 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 is hereby upheld. This judgment affirms the decisions of the tribunal and the Court of Appeal,” Justice Lawal concluded. The INEC returned Okpebholo as the duly elected winner of the Edo State governorship election of Saturday, 21st September, 2024. He defeated Ighodalo, the sitting government’s candidate and adopted godson of ex-governor Godwin Obaseki, by 291, 667 votes to 247, 655 votes. Ighodalo rejected the results and proceeded to the Tribunal, where Okpebholo unanimously defeated him on Wednesday, 2nd of April, 2025. After losing at the tribunal, Ighodalo approached the Court of Appeal, which unanimously upheld his loss on Thursday, 29th of May, 2025, in a resounding judgment that tongue-lashed him for taking “a gamble.” Still not satisfied with the detailed appellate judgment, and acting against popular entreaties of the good people of Edo State, Ighodalo appealed to the Supreme Court, where he met his waterloo today. The appellant’s baseless, mischievous, broken and irreconcilable petition, which was more rooted in the anger of his abandonment at the beginning of a tedious and tortuous opposition politics by the fleeing Obaseki after much contrary promise, according to PDP leaders, reeked of a hasty or poorly schemed gamble, ab initio. This is because Okpebholo unarguably won the 2024 Edo State governorship election. To garb the petition with a ridiculous veil, Ighodalo challenged the results of only 765 polling units out of the total 5, 419 polling units in Edo State and called only five polling agents from five of the challenged 765 polling units as witnesses. The remaining 14 witnesses that testified had no direct dealing with the poll. Worse still, the appellant refused to open and deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, voter’s register and result sheets he tendered to prove his allegations, resulting to the allegation of dumping of evidence the respondents made against him at the lower courts. Each of the two lower court judgments overwhelmingly indicated that Okpebholo still won the election clearly even if all the votes APC obtained in Ighodalo’s five polling units whose witnesses testified for him or even the disputed 765 polling units were voided or taken away from the winner. Owing to this crystal-clear fact, Ighodalo systematically and tactically opted against asking the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal for particular reliefs (either a nullification of parts or the entire election or to be declared the winner or both) just as he refused to collate, sort, calculate and tabulate the final votes for all candidates unlike what ex-governor Adams Oshiomhole painstakingly did to retrieve his stolen mandate from the PDP’s Professor Osereimen Osunbor in 2008. Instead, Ighodalo, a reputed commercial lawyer and investment banker, the co-founder of Banwo and Ighodalo law firm and former Chairman of Sterling Bank Plc, pleaded inconsistently and incompetently that the election was invalid, thereby giving Okpebholo the chance to nail him that he can neither be adjudged winner of an invalid election nor his petition that demanded no