Court of Appeal Validates Asue Ighodalo’s PDP Candidacy for Edo Governorship Election
On Monday, the Court of Appeal upheld Asue Ighodalo as the legitimate candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Edo State governorship election, set for September 21. This ruling overturned an earlier decision by the Federal High Court that had invalidated Ighodalo’s candidacy.
The Federal High Court had previously declared the PDP primary election held on February 22 invalid. Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled that the exclusion of 378 elected ward delegates from the primary was a breach of Article 50(3) of the PDP constitution, arguing that such non-compliance undermined the electoral process’s legitimacy.
In response, the PDP appealed the decision, citing 25 grounds for challenging the lower court’s judgement. The respondents included Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie, who represented the excluded delegates, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other PDP officials.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the respondents did not have the legal standing to challenge the primary election outcome, as they were not aspirants in the election. The appeal was granted, and the lower court’s judgement was set aside due to lack of jurisdiction.
This ruling confirms Ighodalo’s position as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for the upcoming election, reaffirming the party’s internal processes and electoral guidelines.
