By Suleiman Abubakar MAPSA
The Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, has admitted evidence of multiple incidents of over voting in seven polling units in Ovia South West Local Government Area (LGA) during the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
At today’s hearing, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) witness, who served as the Local Government Collation Agent for Ovia South West, testified that the total number of votes cast exceeded the number of accredited voters in polling units 014, 007, 004, 006, 016, 028, and 034.
The witness claimed that the over voting favored the All Progressives Congress (APC), whose deputy governorship candidate, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, hails from the area.
Despite protests by PDP agents at the affected polling units, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reportedly failed to cancel the results.
Relying on documents including BVAS accreditation reports, certified true copies (CTC) of result sheets (Form EC8A-C), IREV reports, and BVAS extracts, the witness provided detailed evidence to support the claims.
Under cross-examination, the witness disclosed that INEC presiding officers ignored complaints raised by PDP agents.
While counsels for the first respondent (INEC) and the second respondent (Okpebholo) objected to admitting the witness's statement on oath, the tribunal overruled the objections and admitted the evidence.
The hearing continues as more PDP witnesses are scheduled to testify.
