Edo guber poll: Appeal Court affirms PDP’s Ighodalo’s candidature, dismisses Shaibu’s appeal

The Abuja Court of Appeal has upheld the validity of the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) primary election that elected Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the party’s candidate for the Edo State governorship election.

Mr. Philip Shaibu, the reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, filed an appeal, which a three-member panel of justices unanimously rejected.

The court dismissed the appeal for lack of merit, upholding the Federal High Court’s decision that refused to invalidate the PDP’s governorship primary election in Edo State.

The panel, led by Justice A. M. Lamido, found no reason to overturn the lower court’s judgment.

The court proceeded to award a cost of N1 million against the appellant and in favour of the respondents in the case.

Persecondnews recalls that the High Court’s Justice James Omotosho, on July 17, ruled that Shaibu lacked the legal standing to challenge the primary election’s outcome.

Omotosho ruled that the plaintiff failed to meet the necessary conditions to establish his legal right to challenge the primary election’s outcome, as he did not provide evidence of his participation in the election he sought to nullify.

He held that it was a basic requirement of the law that a plaintiff must participate in a disputed election to be able to challenge its outcome in court.

The court found that the plaintiff was not present at the PDP primary election held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on February 22, but instead participated in a rival primary election conducted by a faction of the party at his residence.

Furthermore, Justice Omotoso ruled that the plaintiff failed to pursue the mandatory internal dispute resolution process within the PDP, as required by law, before filing the lawsuit.

He, therefore, dismissed the suit for want of merit.

The deputy governor’s lawsuit sought to block INEC from recognizing Ighodalo as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, citing non-compliance with the Electoral Act and party constitution.

It demanded a new election, arguing that the primary election that elected Ighodalo was invalid.

He requested that the court order the PDP to hold a new primary election in the state and bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from acknowledging Ighodalo as the party’s legitimate candidate.

The court, however, rejected all his requests.