The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court judgment that had earlier mandated the participation of 381 ad-hoc delegates in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) primary election held on February 22, 2024, in Edo State.
The primary election in question produced Asue Ighodalo as the party’s candidate for the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state.
A three-member panel of the appellate court nullified the judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo on July 4, 2024, citing a lack of jurisdiction by the Federal High Court to entertain the suit brought by the aggrieved delegates. The panel emphasized that the delegates did not possess the necessary legal standing to initiate the lawsuit.
The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that it does not have the authority to interfere with the internal processes by which the PDP selects its candidate for the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.
The court underscored that political parties function like clubs, where members must adhere to established rules, and as such, the judiciary cannot intervene in the internal affairs of such parties.
Additionally, the court concluded that candidates who did not participate in an election lack the legal standing (locus standi) to challenge the election’s outcome. Therefore, the ad-hoc delegates, who were excluded from voting, did not have the right to challenge the result of the PDP primary election.
This ruling overturned the decision by Justice Ekwo, who had previously voided the PDP’s governorship primary election on the grounds that 378 delegates were unlawfully excluded from voting.
Justice Ekwo had argued that this exclusion violated the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the PDP’s own guidelines. He had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, represented by Kelvin Mohammed and others, stating that the evidence presented by the PDP did not substantiate the validity of the election results.
The plaintiffs had sought judicial intervention to ensure their participation in the primaries, arguing that their exclusion was against the law.
However, the Court of Appeal’s latest ruling has now upheld the validity of the primary election and Asue Ighodalo’s candidacy.