On Saturday, the Edo State governorship election petitions tribunal adjourned till January 13, 2025 hearing of a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging Governor Monday Okpebholo’s victory in the state governorship poll.
The PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, are challenging Okpebholo’s declaration as the winner of the September 21 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The commission had announced that Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo got 247,274 votes in the exercise.
The tribunal’s chairman, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, adjourned the hearing following the adoption of the pre-hearing report.
In a pre-hearing report adopted on Saturday, the parties agreed to call 290 witnesses.
The report outlined the timeframe for the examination of witnesses, with 40 minutes allocated for the examination-in-chief for each star witness, 30 minutes for cross-examination by petitioners, and 20 minutes for cross-examination by each respondent.
Other agreements reached by the parties include the allocation of 10 minutes for re-examination of each star witness and 25 minutes for examination-in-chief for other ordinary witnesses.
The petitioners are expected to call their witnesses within 21 days or less, while respondents will have 10 days each to call their witnesses.
The tribunal will sit daily from 10:00 a.m., except on Sundays and other public holidays gazetted by law.
