Appeal court affirms Ighodalo as Edo PDP governorship candidate

On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned a judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court. The earlier ruling had instructed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to include 378 excluded ad-hoc delegates in its primary election.

Justice Ekwo had previously ruled in favor of these delegates, who challenged their exclusion from the February 22 primary for the Edo State gubernatorial election, asserting that their exclusion violated the party’s constitution.

However, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal nullified Ekwo’s July 4, 2024 decision, stating that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear the delegates’ case. The appellate court found that the plaintiffs had no standing to bring the suit as they were not political aspirants but merely delegates.

The panel agreed with the PDP’s argument that primary elections are internal party matters beyond judicial oversight, thereby dismissing the grievances of the delegates.

The case was brought by three delegates—Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie—who, along with the other 378 delegates, sought judicial intervention to participate in the February 22 primary election. They argued that their exclusion breached the PDP’s constitution and sought an order for their inclusion.

Justice Ekwo had previously ruled that the PDP’s primary did not comply with the Electoral Act, 2022, and the party’s own guidelines, mandating the party to include the excluded delegates.