Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit that sought to prevent Barrister Asue Ighodalo from being presented as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming Edo State election.
The judge dismissed the suit, filed by Anselm Ojeizu, an aggrieved PDP governorship aspirant, on the grounds that it was premature when filed on March 6.
In his judgment on Wednesday, Justice Egwuatu stated that Ojeizu failed to utilize the mandatory internal dispute resolution mechanisms of the PDP before approaching the court. He agreed with Ighodalo’s lead counsel, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, that Ojeizu breached PDP’s mandatory rules by not involving the PDP Appeal Panel in resolving his dispute prior to filing the suit.
Ojeizu had sought an order to cancel the February 22 primary election that selected Ighodalo as the PDP gubernatorial candidate, alleging violations of the Electoral Act 2022 and PDP guidelines during the primary election at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. He specifically claimed that a fake delegates list was used in the primary election.
However, Justice Egwuatu ruled that aggrieved governorship aspirants must first use the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court, a requirement reinforced by Supreme Court decisions.
Ighodalo, a lawyer and investment banker, emerged as the PDP governorship candidate on February 22, defeating other aspirants in the primary election. He received 577 votes, while his competitors, including Barrister Anselm Ojezua, Arthur Esele, Osaro Onaiwu, Martins Uhomoibhi, Hadizat Umoru, and Felix Akhabue, all received zero votes, with six votes voided out of 585 accredited delegates.
The Chief Returning Officer of the Edo PDP Gubernatorial Primaries and the Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Dauda Lawal, declared Ighodalo the winner.