On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja refused to invalidate the primary election that selected Asue Ighodalo as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.
In a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed by the embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, who had been previously impeached but was recently reinstated by the court.
The Justice A. M. Lamido-led panel dismissed the appeal, labeled CA/ABJ/CV/642/2024, due to lack of merit.
The panel saw no justification to overturn the Federal High Court’s May 27 judgment in Abuja, which had upheld the PDP’s governorship primary election in Edo State despite the appellant’s lawsuit.
The court also imposed a cost of N1 million on the appellant, favoring the respondents in the case.
It should be noted that Justice James Omotosho of the High Court, in his ruling upheld by the appellate court, determined that Deputy Governor Shaibu did not have the legal standing (locus standi) to challenge the results of the primary election.
Justice Omotosho ruled that the plaintiff did not fulfill the prerequisite condition to be granted the legal right to challenge the primary election’s outcome.
The court stated that no evidence was provided to show that he participated in the primary election he sought to nullify.
Justice Omotosho asserted that it is a fundamental legal requirement for a plaintiff to have participated in the contested election in order to challenge its outcome in court.
He stated that there was substantial evidence showing that the plaintiff was not physically present at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, where the PDP held its primary election on February 22.
The court stated that there was uncontested evidence that the deputy governor took part in a parallel primary election held at his residence by a faction of the party.
Additionally, Justice Omotosho ruled that the plaintiff did not utilize or exhaust the PDP’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms as required by law before filing the lawsuit in court.
The judge ruled that the plaintiff had no grounds to demand the annulment of the primary election results and the disqualification of Ighodalo’s candidacy, as he did not take part in the process. Consequently, the case was dismissed for lack of merit.
It should be remembered that the deputy governor, in his lawsuit, requested the court to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or recognizing Ighodalo as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate.
He argued that the primary election that selected Ighodalo was not conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act and the party’s Constitution.
He requested the court to, among other things, compel the PDP to hold a new primary election in the state.
Additionally, the plaintiff sought an order preventing the INEC from recognizing Ighodalo as the legitimate candidate of the party. However, the court rejected all his requests.
