Appeal Court affirms Ighodalo as Edo PDP governorship candidate

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the nomination of Asue Ighodalo as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo state.

In a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Musali JCA, the Appeal Court held that the delegates who sought to nullify the PDP primaries lacked locus and that the trial court had no jurisdiction to nullify the PDP primaries.

The appellate court further stated that under s. 84 (14) of the Electoral Act, “it is only aspirants that can challenge a primary election.”

It said that ad hoc delegates “are not aspirants and therefore do not have the locus to sue as the matter is an internal affairs of Peoples Democratic Party.”

“They are delegates and not aspirants. Delegates do not have any locus to challenge the process of the primary election,” the court held

The appellant court consequently upheld the February 22 primaries of the PDP in Edo State, which produced Asue Ighodalo as governorship candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming September 21st governorship election in Edo State.