Legal Nigeria

Judgement against Edo primary: PDP takes battle to Appeal Court

The Peoples Democratic Party has filed an appeal against the judgement of the Federal High Court invalidating the primary election which produced Asue Ighodalo as the governorship candidate of the party in the coming September 21 election.

A Federal High Court presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo had on July 4 voided the exercise which held on February 22 holding that the party did not comply with the relevant provisions of its constitution or the electoral guidelines for primary elections when it excluded 378 elected ward delegates from participating in the exercise.

He said:“The failure to comply with the electoral guidelines is not different from the effect of non-compliance with the constitution of the political party or noncompliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

“The decision of the second defendant (PDP) not to include the plaintiffs in the governorship primary for which they were elected at the ward congress was arbitrarily wrong”.

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However, in its appeal filed at the Abuja division of the Appeal Court,vldated July 9, marked CA/ABJ/CV/2024 and filed through its counsel, contend that the trial court erred in its judgement.

The PDP argues that the trial court gave its decision against the weight of evidence. It argues that Ighodalo was duly elected as the party’s flag bearer.

The PDP is seeking an “order allowing the appeal, an order setting aside the judgment of the lower court, and an order striking out or dismissing the entire suit for want of jurisdiction.”