The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Wednesday, commenced its defence before the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja by tendering three documents in evidence.

Dr Asue Ighodalo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 2024 election.

Tendering the documents on behalf of INEC, their counsel, A. Amaliu, said they include the Certified True Copy (CTC) of form EC8D, which is the collation of results at the state level; the CTC of the Declaration of Result; and the CTC of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022.

Counsel for the petitioners, Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN; that of Gov. Okpebholo, Dr. Onyechi Ekpeazu, SAN; and Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, for APC, did not object to the admissibility of the documents.

The Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Wilfred Kpochi, therefore, admitted the documents as exhibits R1, R2, and R3.

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Lead counsel for INEC, Kanu Agabi, SAN, had said that INEC would be calling its witnesses on Thursday, and Amaliu explained that this is because the witnesses are coming from Benin in Edo and are unavailable today due to travel constraints.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kpochi, who frowned at the development, called it “a waste of time.”

He noted that INEC had since Monday to make travel arrangements for its witnesses and demanded assurance that the witnesses would be ready on Thursday as promised.

Amaliu tried to remind the tribunal that they had been provisionally given ten days for their defence and that they intended to call three witnesses and hopefully close their case on the same day, but Kpochi would have none of it, saying, “It was not cast in stone.”

All counsels to the other parties did not object to the request for adjournment, and the Chairman adjourned proceedings to February 5 for the continuation of the hearing.

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Ighodalo and his party are challenging the declaration of the candidate of the APC, Okpebholo, as governor over alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

They alleged that Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of majority votes cast in the election as required by law, as well as instances of over-voting.

During the course of their argument, the petitioners called a total of 19 witnesses and presented other supporting documents to back up their claims before the tribunal.