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The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday upheld the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prmary and its governorship candidate Asue Ighodalo.
The court set aside a judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court that ordered the PDP to allow the participation of the excluded 378 ad hoc delegates in its primary election.
While delivering judgment in a suit brought before the lower court by the aggrieved 378 ad hoc delegates, Justice Ekwo had held that the exclusion of the plaintiffs in the February 22 Edo State PDP primary election for the selection of its candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state was against the party’s constitution and ordered their inclusion in the primary election.
However, a three-man panel of the appellate court set aside Justice Ekwo’s judgment of July 4, 2024, on the grounds that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit of the aggrieved delegates in the first place.
The panel held that the plaintiffs who instituted the suit lacked the necessary legal rights to initiate the suit since they were not aspirants seeking political office.
According to the panel, “It is only an aspirant that can challenge the primary election of a political party."
The Court of Appeal, in agreement with the submission of the PDP that had appealed the judgment of the lower court in a 25-ground appeal, argued that the issue of primary was an internal matter within the political party and, as such, outside the jurisdiction of any court.
It declared that a primary election is an internal affair of any political party; hence the grievances of the plaintiffs could not be entertained by any court, as they were not contesting political office but selected to only participate in the selection of a candidate for the party.
Recall that three aggrieved ad hoc delegates, Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie, had sued the PDP on behalf of themselves and 378 other delegates over their exclusion in the February 22 primary election that produced Asue Ighodalo as the candidate to represent PDP in the forthcoming September 21 gubernatorial election in the state.
They had asked the court to determine, among other things, whether their exclusion from the said primary was not in breach of the party’s constitution.
Justice Ekwo, delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/165/2024, said the primary failed to comply with Sections 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the guidelines for the conduct of the poll, and Article 50(3) of the party’s constitution.
He held that PDP must comply with its constitution, maintaining that parties are bound by the Constitution of Nigeria, the Electoral Act, and their own constitution and guidelines.
He held that where a party acted contrary to the provisions of the law and the guidelines that they have enacted for themselves, such actions would be declared invalid.
The court held that the case of the plaintiffs merited justice and ordered the PDP not to exclude them from the February 22 primary.
He had declared, “Consequently, I find that the case of the plaintiffs succeed on the merit upon a preponderance of evidence as required by law.
“A declaration is hereby made that by virtue of the provisions of Article 50 (3) of the Constitution of the 2nd defendant (as amended in 2017), the plaintiffs, together with the other lawfully elected delegates, whose names and election results appear on Exhibits BID 8A to 8L herein, are the lawfully elected Ward Congress Delegates in their respective wards and by virtue of which the defendants cannot exclude them from participating as 3 Ad Hoc Ward Delegates at the governorship primary election of Edo State slated for the 22 of February 2024 or any other date.
“An order is hereby made directing the defendants who are bound by the provisions of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and Article 50 (3) of the 2nd defendant’s constitution (as amended in 2017) to abide by the outcome of the 3 Ad Hoc Delegates Ward Congress of February 4, 2024, at which the plaintiffs and the other 378 delegates, whose names and election results appear on Exhibits BID 8A to 8L were elected and to allow the plaintiffs and the 375 other lawfully elected delegates participate in the primary election of February 22, 2024.
“An order of Mandatory Injunction is hereby made restraining the 1st, 2nd, 3rd defendants from unlawfully excluding the plaintiffs and the other lawfully elected delegates whose names and election results appear on Exhibits BID 8A to 8L herein, from participating as 3 Ad-Hoc Ward Delegates in the governorship election primaries of the 2nd defendant slated for the 22nd of February, 2024 or any other date.”
