Appeal Court Overturns Ruling Faulting Edo PDP’s Governorship Primary

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a previous ruling by a Federal High Court that had ordered the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to include 381 ad-hoc delegates in its February 22 primary election in Edo State.

The primary had produced Asue Ighodalo as the party’s candidate for the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

On Monday, August 26, a three-judge panel from the Court of Appeal dismissed the earlier ruling by Justice Inyang Ekwo from July 4, 2024.

The court stated that the Federal High Court didn’t have the authority to hear the case since the aggrieved delegates didn’t have the legal standing to bring the case in the first place.

The Appeal Court ruled that it cannot interfere in how the PDP selects its candidate for the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.

In a related case brought by eight other delegates, the court emphasized that a political party is like a club, and members must follow its rules.

The court also stated that those who did not participate in the election do not have the right to challenge its outcome, which means the ad-hoc delegates cannot contest the results of the PDP primary.

Previously, Justice Ekwo had voided the PDP primary in Edo State, arguing that 378 delegates were unlawfully excluded from voting.

The lawsuit was initiated by one of the delegates, Kelvin Mohammed, who argued that both the Electoral Act and the PDP’s guidelines were violated during the primary.

Justice Ekwo held that the evidence provided by the PDP did not support its case and that the exclusion of the 381 delegates was against the law.

He criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for not actively participating in the case, although the commission had stated it would abide by the court’s decision.

The 381 delegates in question are loyal to the embattled Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu.

KanyiDaily recalls that PDP campaign organization in Edo had called the federal high court’s decision to nullify their governorship primary a “strange development.”