The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has unanimously upheld Senator Monday Okpebholo's election as the Governor of Edo State, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Mohammed Danjuma, the appellate court ruled that the September 24, 2024 gubernatorial election was validly conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and that Governor Okpebholo was properly returned as the winner.

The three-man panel of justices held that the appeal lacked merit and subsequently dismissed it in its entirety. Justice Danjuma specifically noted that both the PDP and Ighodalo failed to establish any miscarriage of justice in the earlier judgment delivered by the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal, which had previously dismissed their petition.

"The appellants failed to establish miscarriage of justice in the judgment of the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the petition," Justice Danjuma stated in the unanimous decision.

This ruling represents a significant legal victory for Governor Okpebholo, effectively affirming his mandate as the democratically elected governor of Edo State following the hotly contested September 2024 election.

The PDP and its candidate had challenged the outcome of the election, but have now exhausted another legal avenue in their bid to overturn the results, with the Appeal Court's decision further solidifying Okpebholo's position.

Political observers note that this judgment may significantly impact the political landscape in Edo State, as it removes a major legal cloud that had been hanging over the governor's administration since his election victory.