The Court of Appeal in Abuja has rejected an appeal from Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua, governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, who sought to disqualify the party’s nominee, Asue Ighodalo, from the September 21 governorship election.In appeal case CA/ABJ/CV/863/2024, Esene and Ojezua contested the April 17 ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had dismissed their lawsuit on the grounds that it was “statute barred.”
PDP Aspirants’ Bold Challenge Fails Once More
The plaintiffs had claimed that Ighodalo forged his voter’s card, but Justice Omotosho ruled that they failed to provide sufficient evidence for this allegation. He also noted that “the lack of a voter’s card does not constitute a disqualifying factor under the Constitution and the Electoral Act.”In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Hamma Barka upheld the decision of Justice Omotosho, confirming that the lawsuit brought by Ojezua and others was “filed out of time and statute barred.” Justice Barka agreed with the Federal High Court’s conclusion that the appellants had “failed to prove” their claim regarding Ighodalo’s alleged voter’s card forgery. Additionally, Justice Barka observed that the suit lacked merit, based on the incorrect premise that “the absence of a voter’s card is a valid reason for disqualifying a candidate from running in an election.”Justice Barka noted that the appellants did not challenge the trial court’s findings that Ighodalo had applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a transfer of his voter registration from Lagos State to Edo State, and that INEC had issued a voter’s card to him. As a result, Justice Barka dismissed the appeal as lacking merit and awarded N3 million in costs against the appellants, benefiting Ighodalo, the PDP, and INEC. Justices Usman Musale and Okon Abang, who were also part of the panel, agreed with the lead judgment. This ruling paves the way for Ighodalo to proceed as the PDP candidate in the upcoming election.
In a related development, the Court of Appeal in Abuja also dismissed an appeal filed by reinstated Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, which sought to invalidate the primary election that selected Asue Ighodalo as the PDP candidate.
