The Edo State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin on Tuesday rejected a motion filed by the legal team of Governor Godwin Obaseki, seeking to strike out the names of Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the All Progressives Party from the petition filed by the Action Democratic Party.

The tribunal also announced that it would hear ADP’s petition on its merits.

The petition of the ADP and its governorship candidate with reference number: EPT/ED/GOV/01/2020, with INEC, PDP, Obaseki, APC and its governorship candidate, Ize-Iyamu, as respondents, was obtained by our correspondent.

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ADP prayed the tribunal to disqualify Obaseki over his controversial first-degree certificate from the University of Ibadan and nullify the votes cast for him. It also prayed the court to order INEC to conduct a fresh election involving all other qualified governorship candidates, excluding the Peoples Democratic Party and Obaseki.