By Abiola Olawale
The Governorship of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, is facing a new controversy as a Magistrate Court in Abuja has issued a summons for his appearance over allegations bordering on forgery and perjury.
This comes as a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Honesty Aginbatse, filed a lawsuit alleging discrepancies in the birth dates provided in the nomination forms Okpebholo submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the governorship election.
Aginbatse alleged that Okpebholo in his 2023 INEC Senate nomination form stated that he was born on March 29, 1970, while in the 2024 governorship form, he listed three different dates of birth: August 29, 1970, in an age declaration document; August 29, 1972, on his West African Examination Council (WAEC) result; and August 1, 1977, on his INEC voter card.
In the court summons dated September 12, 2024, and signed by Abubakar Mukhtar, Magistrate 1 FCT, the APC’s governorship candidate is required to appear before the magistrate on September 20.
This comes barely eight days to the Edo governorship election scheduled for September 21, 2024.
The summon reads in part: “Summon to an accused person: To Sen. Monday Okpehbolo of No 36 Gaborone Street Wuse Zone 2 Abuja.
“Whereas your attendance is required to answer to a charge of making a false statement on oath you are hereby summoned to appear in person before Magistrate Court at Wuse Zone 2 on the 20th day of September 2024 at Noon.”
This comes after reports emerged that Okpebholo is purportedly not on the list of registered voters recognised by the INEC.
The Edo State chapter of the PDP had alleged that Okpebholo presented a fake voter card in his Form EC9 submitted to INEC.
However, in his response Okpebholo had denied the claims, describing it as false. The governorship candidate described the allegations as fictitious fabrication manufactured to dent his image because of his rising political acceptability in Edo state.
