Edo Governorship: Court Rejects Bid to Invalidate Ighodalo’s Nomination

• The Federal High Court in Abuja refused to disqualify Dr. Asue Ighodalo from the PDP governorship race in Edo State
• Justice Obiora Egwuatu dismissed the suit, ruling it premature due to failure to exhaust internal party dispute resolution mechanisms

The Federal High Court in Abuja has declined to disqualify Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, from contesting the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the judgement yesterday, dismissing a suit by Anselm Ojezua, an aggrieved PDP governorship aspirant.

The judge ruled that the suit, filed on March 6, was premature, noting that Ojezua had failed to utilize the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before resorting to litigation.

Justice Egwuatu concurred with arguments from Ighodalo’s lead counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who contended that bypassing the party’s appeal panel was a breach of PDP’s mandatory rules.

The judge emphasized that any dissatisfied governorship aspirant must exhaust internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court, affirming that Ojezua was obligated to follow the same procedural rules as other aspirants.

Ighodalo emerged as the PDP governorship flag-bearer on February 22, securing 577 votes in the primary election, as Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State declared.

In his lawsuit, Ojezua challenged the primary’s outcome, alleging the use of a fake and adulterated delegates’ list during the indirect election process.