Abuja Federal High Court Voids PDP Primary Election of Asue Ighodalo for Edo Gubernatorial Race
A federal high court in Abuja has invalidated the People's Democratic Party (PDP) primary election that selected Asue Ighodalo as the candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial poll in Edo State.
In the ruling delivered on Thursday, Judge Inyang Ekwo stated that the PDP primary held on February 22 did not comply with the Electoral Act 2022 and the party’s constitution. Ekwo noted that the returning officers who prepared the result sheets falsified the outcome by only sitting in one place.
He emphasized that excluding the 381 delegates, including the plaintiffs, violated the law. The judge also remarked that although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) filed a memorandum of appearance in the suit, the commission did not submit any process in the case, opting instead to abide by the court's ruling.
“I found that the case of the plaintiffs succeeds on merit,” Ekwo stated.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/165/2024, was filed by three aggrieved ad hoc delegates—Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie—on behalf of 378 other delegates from 12 LGAs and 127 wards. The 381 delegates are loyal to Philip Shaibu, the impeached deputy governor of Edo State.
On February 4, the PDP conducted a congress to select delegates for the party’s February 22 governorship primary. However, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who was appointed as the chairman of the election committee, rejected the appointment, citing the inclusion of names from Delta State and officials of the Edo State government on the list of electoral officers.
Nine of the 11 PDP governorship aspirants, including Shaibu, boycotted the exercise, rejecting the composition of the committee for the delegates' election. Tony Aziegbemi, chairman of the PDP in Edo, advised aggrieved governorship hopefuls to approach the appeal panel.
Asue Ighodalo, a businessman and the preferred candidate of Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki, won the governorship primary conducted on February 22. Shaibu has since been expelled by the Edo state chapter of the PDP.
The Edo governorship election is scheduled for September 21, 2024.
