In a statement released by the Statehouse, President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Mr. Jim Ovia, founder and chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, on his admission to the prestigious Freedom of the City of London.

This honour recognizes Mr. Ovia’s exceptional contributions to business, innovation, and technology, as well as his role in shaping Nigeria’s financial landscape and strengthening economic ties between Africa and the rest of the world.

President Tinubu praised Mr. Ovia’s commitment to excellence, pioneering role in Nigeria’s financial services sector, and visionary leadership. He also commended Mr. Ovia for being a distinguished ambassador of Nigeria’s private sector and wished him continued success.

Notably, Mr. Ovia was recently appointed by President Tinubu as the Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), a position that underscores the government’s commitment to advancing education and ensuring that no student is left behind due to financial constraints.

Admission to the Freedom of the City of London is a prestigious honour bestowed on individuals for their service to the city or their achievements.

Confusion erupted as leaked copies of a yet-to-be-read judgement of the Edo State Governorship tribunal have flooded the internet barely hours before judgement day.

According to the judgement document making the rounds on the internet, the lead judgement dismissed the petition and affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo.

Recall that the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal had, on March 3, reserved its judgement on the case the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship poll that was held in the state on September 21, 2024.

The panel had, in the early hours of Tuesday, directed the parties to appear before it on Wednesday, 2 April 2025, for the judgement.

In what appeared as a leakage, copies of the judgement made their way into the internet, indicating a two-to-one split in the decision of the tribunal.

The leaked document showed that the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kpochi, and member 1 of the tribunal, Justice A. B. Yusuf, dismissed the petition and affirmed the election of Governor Monday Okpebholo, while the third member of the panel, Justice A. A. Adewole, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ighodalo of the PDP as the authentic winner of the poll.

According to the minority judgement, Justice Adewole held that Governor Okpebholo’s election was invalid by reason of non-substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.

He held that the 2nd Respondent, Governor Okpebholo, was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast and proceeded to nullify his return as the winner of the gubernatorial contest.

The petitioner’s case was not rebutted and showed, unit by unit, how the actual total should be 243,113 votes, while the 2nd respondent’s tally should stand at 210,326 votes — a clear reversal of the declared result,” Justice Adewole was credited with having held in the leaked documents.

However, in the lead and majority decision of the tribunal, its chairman, Justice Kpochi, held that “while there was credible evidence of non-compliance, particularly concerning section 73(2) (failure to record serial numbers in EC 25B) and section 51(2) (over-voting), the petitioners failed to demonstrate that these breaches substantially affected the outcome of the election as required under section 135(1) of the Electoral Act”

On the issue of the majority of lawful votes, the petitioners established instances of incorrect collation and exclusion of results. However, their mathematical and documentary evidence did not conclusively establish that the margin of lead was overtaken or that they scored the highest number of lawful votes.

The majority judgement relied on the strength of the Supreme Court’s decided cases in Oyetola vs. Adeleke, 2023, 10 NWLR (Pt 1892), as well as Atiku vs. INEC (2023), 19 NWLR, pt. 1927. The panel held that the petitioners failed to prove not only that non-compliance occurred but also that it was substantial enough to have affected the result of the election.

“We find that the petitioners have not discharged the dual burden to the satisfaction of the law.

“Accordingly, the petition lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” the document further read.

Meanwhile, Ekwutosblog  was unable to confirm the originality of the leaked judgement document as of filing this report.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247,655 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate, Ighodalo, approached the tribunal on October 11, 2024, alleging that it was not conducted with substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed his condolences to the immediate past Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, over the passing of his younger brother, Mr. Bernard Tyozenda Ortom.