written by Francis Onoiribholo
Concerned Citizens of Edo State have called on the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) to call off the proposed local government elections scheduled for Saturday, July 11, 2026, in the 18 local government areas of the state.
Conducting the local government election, according to the Edo State
Concerned Citizens, constitutes a direct violation of a valid and subsisting order of the National Industrial Court, Benin Division, issued on July 22, 2025, by Hon. Justice A. A. Adewemimo.
The Edo State Concerned Citizens, in a statement titled, “The Proposed July 11, 2026 Local Government Election: Why it must not hold,” cited a Court Order issued on July 22, 2025, by Hon. Justice A. A. Adewemimo of the National Industrial Court, Benin Division, as a clear and binding interim order in Suit No. NICN/B/03/2025 .
According to the statement, the suit was filed by the former EDSIEC Chairman, Hon. Justice James Uyi Oyomire (rtd.), and six other duly appointed commissioners, challenging their unlawful dissolution by Governor Monday Okpebholo on December 17, 2024 .
In the suit, the claimants, who were appointed on March 23, 2022, for a fixed five-year tenure ending in March 2027, averred that they were unlawfully removed without due process, describing their removal as a flagrant breach of constitutional provisions.
“The court’s order, which is unequivocal and binding on all parties, states that “parties should refrain from any further action that will render the decision of Court in this case meaningless or nugatory until a decision is entered in this case.
“Justice Adewemimo affirmed the settled principle of law that parties must not engage in acts capable of rendering a court’s decision nugatory and restrained all parties from taking such steps.
“Despite this subsisting order, the Edo State Government, through the newly constituted EDSIEC under the chairmanship of Jonathan Aifuobhokhan, proceeded to issue a timetable and make preparations for the local government election scheduled for July 11, 2026 .
“This action is particularly egregious because the court issued its order after being informed that the 4th Defendant, Aifuobhokhan, had already gone ahead to issue a timetable for local government elections despite a pending motion for interlocutory injunction .
“We, the concerned citizens of Edo State, therefore call on the following parties to immediately halt all preparations for the July 11, 2026 local government election:
“They include Governor Monday Okpebholo and the Edo State Government, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Edo State, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly and the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC).
“We call on them to respect the judiciary and allow the rule of law to prevail. The sanctity of the court must be preserved, and democracy is too sacred to be sacrificed on the altar of political desperation.
“While we stand for the rule of law, we submit, without equivocation, that proceeding with this election constitutes a direct violation of a valid and subsisting order of the National Industrial Court, Benin Division, and a dangerous assault on the rule of law in Edo State and therefore call on the State Government and EDSIEC to immediately suspend the proposed election.
“Proceeding with the election now is not merely an act of defiance; it is a calculated attempt to preempt the court’s final judgment and render the entire judicial process meaningless. It is, in essence, contempt of court,
the consequences of this illegality are grave, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has previously warned.
“Furthermore, the Chairman and members of EDSIEC, as well as the Attorney-General of Edo State, risk being held personally liable for contempt of court for their willful disobedience of valid court orders.
“This is not merely a legal technicality; it is a fundamental threat to our democracy.
“The sanctity of the court must be preserved. When public officers who swore to uphold the Constitution deliberately disobey lawful court orders, they undermine the very foundation of our constitutional governance .
“The order from the National Industrial Court explicitly directed that no new commission be inaugurated and no electoral timetable issued until the matter is resolved” .
“Hon. Justice Adewemimo has previously established in other cases that “Nothing should change during the pendency of an action. Parties to an action are not expected to take any action which may affect or render the judgement of the court nugatory” .
“Any election conducted under these circumstances will be a sham, and as the PDP has rightly stated, any such exercise would be illegal, null, void, and of no effect”, they declared.
Reacting to the statement, a senior member of EDSIEC, Dr. Sulieman Ikhuoria, said the court order was an old document with no bearing on Saturday’s (tomorrow) election, adding that it was a court case filed to stop the LGA’s By-Election of last year, which did not hold.
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