Edo Guber: Unease as the court deems the PDP primary and Ighodalo’s candidacy invalid
THE PDP’s governorship primary, which produced Dr. Asue Ighodalo as its nominee for the state’s September 21 election, was declared void by a
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday, rocking the Edo State political establishment.
In a ruling signed by Justice Inyang Ekwo, the court determined that the PDP primaries held on February 22 did not comply with the party’s constitution,
the rules for conducting the election, or the criteria of the Electoral Act 2022.
Different reactions were evoked by the verdict in politics. Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, the chairman of the Edo PDP, and the
party’s campaign team in the state played down the ruling, claiming that Ighodalo remained their flagbearer.
But the recently elected deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, who boycotted the primaries and contested their results in court, claimed he had been vindicated.
After Shaibu won the PDP’s parallel primaries, the party filed a lawsuit and named Ighodalo as its standard bearer.
Similar to Shaibu, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) was rejoicing after Senator Monday Okpebholo, its candidate for governor, advised Ighodalo to immediately withdraw from the race.
The PDP flagbearer was also made fun of by the APC campaign council, who also invited him to join the party.
Why did the court fire Ighodalo?
According to Justice Ekwo, the evidence presented to the court proved that Ighodalo was not the product of a legitimate process.
According to him, the PDP’s exhibit demonstrated that the returning officers who created the result sheets did nothing more than sit at a desk and fabricate the exercise’s results.
The court emphasized that the party had not proven that the plaintiffs were ineligible to engage in the exercise and stated that there was no proof that the required delegates attended the primary.
The court ruled that the results of the PDP’s held primaries at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin were void due to the party’s disregard for the applicable election rules and procedures.
It rejected PDP’s argument that the action lacked standing because selecting election delegates was solely a political party internal matter, into which no court has the authority to intervene.
The ruling came after three resentful plaintiffs sued the court on behalf of 378 more ad hoc delegates who felt they should have taken part in the primaries.
The PDP, its National Secretary, South-South Vice Chairman, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
were listed as first through fourth defendants in the lawsuit with the filing number: FHC/ABJ/CS/165/2024.
While ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor, Justice Ekwo pointed out that INEC had not filed any paperwork in the case and stated it would follow the court’s decision.
In particular, the plaintiffs—who were purported to be supporters of the state’s impeached former deputy governor, Philip Shaibu—asked
the court to prevent the defendants from preventing them from taking part in the primaries in their February 8 lawsuit.
The plaintiffs, represented by Mr. Ederaho Osagie, Mr. Gabriel Okoduwa, and Mr. Kelvin Mohammed, declared before the court that
they were the legitimate ad-hoc delegates from the state’s 127 wards and 12 local government areas.
Ighodalo remains the PDP candidate despite the ruling — Aziegbemi
Contrary to what is being pushed, Edo State PDP Chairman Dr. Tony Aziegbemi stated in his remarks regarding the decision that Ighodalo remains the party’s nominee for governor.
Aziegbemi claimed in a statement that the false information regarding the PDP candidate’s dismissal was intended to mislead the party’s throngs of supporters.
In his own words: “The PDP is aware that certain forces are spreading false information that Dr. Asue Ighodalo’s
candidacy has been revoked because they are afraid of our candidate’s skyrocketing popularity.
“Let it be noted that Dr. Asue Ighodalo is still running for the party’s flag bearer position in the 2024 elections, and that the ruling from the
Federal High Court in Abuja has had no bearing whatsoever on Dr. Asue Ighodalo’s candidacy. There is no reason for worry, so we implore our devoted and united followers to maintain their composure.
Ighodalo/Ogie ticket unaltered — PDP organizing group
Similarly, the Edo State PDP Campaign Organization stated that the decision did not nullify the results of the party’s primaries, which produced Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie, his running mate.
The campaign body issued a statement urging PDP members and supporters “to remain calm and ignore the antics of mischief makers as the falsity of their
assertion will be made clear in the fullness of time and upon release of the actual judgment for public consumption,”
characterizing the judgment as “a strange development and contrary to a long line of Appellate Courts’ decisions on the subject.”
The statement read as follows: “On July 4, 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Hon. Justice Inyang Ekwo,
rendered a decision in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/165 of 2024 (Hon. Kelvin Mohammed & 2 ORS Vs. INEC & 3 Ors).”
The lawsuit was brought by a few disgruntled individuals who contended that they were legitimate delegates who were
improperly barred from selecting the Peoples Democratic Party nominee for the upcoming Edo State governor’s race.
The Hon. Justice decided that the question of ward congresses and delegate selection is a justiciable matter that the court is entitled to investigate,
which is an odd development that goes against a lengthy line of Appellate Court rulings on the matter.
