The court dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu as lacking in merit.
Counsels to both parties had argued their briefs on May 30 this year, where Obaseki’s counsel, led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the Appeal, saying that the grounds of the appeal were watery.
Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, who delivered the judgment, said the tribunal was right to uphold Obaseki’s election.
Speaking after the court uphol his victory, Governor Obaseki said;
“I had no doubt in my mind that given the quality judiciary we had, ?it would go straight to the matter,” he said.
“One thing you must always know is that the truth never changes. I won the election. God has affirmed that I won the election. The court has now affirmed that I won the election.
“No matter how hard they (opposition) try, they cannot change the truth. I am sure they will appeal. We will meet at the Supreme Court and it will be the same verdict.”
He thanked the people of Edo State for their patience, saying “I thank Edo people for their patience with us. We want to assure them that we are not distracted and we will continue on our path to recovery, on our path to progress?.
“We have done a little bit of work. I know that people are pleased with what we have done. But I want to assure them that it is only the beginning.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Obaseki, the candidate of the APC, as the winner of the September 28, 2016 governorship election while the appellants alleged that the tribunal judges truncated their right to fair hearing by giving unequal treatment to the parties involved.
The Appeal Court held that the PDP did not prove its case to warrant the nullification of the election or the declaration of Ize-Iyamu as the winner.
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