The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgement of a Federal High Court which faulted the conduct of the governorship primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State.

The primary election held on February 22, 2024, produced Asue Ighodalo as the PDP gubernatorial candidate for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

A three-member panel of the Appeal Court, on Monday, August 26, 2024, set aside the judgement of Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered on July 4 on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction.

In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Musali, the appellate court held that it cannot interfere with how the PDP selected its candidate for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State

The court added that those who instituted the suit lacked the necessary legal standing to do so.

The Appeal Court ruled that the Federal High Court cannot interfere with how the PDP selected its candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State.

The court further held that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to have approached the trial court since they were not aspirants who participated in the primary poll.

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It said: “The lower court has no jurisdiction to interfere with how the PDP conducts its internal affairs.

“The appeal succeeds. The judgement of the Federal High Court delivered on July 4, 2024, is set aside for lack of jurisdiction.”

Some aggrieved PDP members – Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie – had challenged the exercise and sued for themselves and on behalf of the 378 other delegates in 12 Local Government Areas and 127 wards on the outcome of the primary election.

They prayed the court to grant a mandatory order restraining the defendants from unlawfully excluding them and other elected delegates from participating as ad-hoc ward delegates.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in the judgment, held that both the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the PDP guidelines were violated in the conduct of the primary election at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Ekwo held that the exhibit tendered by the party was bereft of evidence, adding that the plaintiffs, through the exhibits tendered, were able to establish their case against the defendants.

The judge held that from the exhibit presented by the PDP, he found that the returning officers who prepared the result sheets manufactured the results.

He held that the exclusion of the 381 delegates, including the plaintiffs, was against the provisions of the law.

The Star