Edo 2024: Appeal Court throws out Justice Ekwo’s judgement for lack of jurisdiction, reaffirms Ighodalo’s candidacy

… validates PDP primaries

…says subject matter party’s internal affairs

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgement by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court for lack of jurisdiction and reaffirmed Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the authentic candidate of the PDP for the September 21 governorship election.

Delivering a unanimous judgment in suit CA/ABJ/CV/763/2024, Justice U.A. Musali also validated the February 22 primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State.

The Appeal Court held that the Plaintiffs in the lower court were delegates and not aspirants and therefore the subject was within the Internal Affairs of the Party. According to the Appeal Court, the delegates were not aspirants and therefore had no locus to bring this suit and the court therefore had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

With the ruling, all doubts and allegations surrounding the eligibility of Asue Ighodalo to contest the September 21 governorship election have been cleared.